


Saving Immunity

by dorkiestduo



Series: The Maze Runner Re-write [3]
Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, Multi, attempted suicide, lots of death, we broke our characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-05-30 01:53:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 60,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6403840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorkiestduo/pseuds/dorkiestduo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off of The Death Cure, Saving Immunity is the third book of our series. Follow Newt, Minho, Thao and Audrey as they face off with WICKED for the last time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Minho

**Author's Note:**

> Here you go guys, the third installment of this series! Thanks to all of you who have stuck with it!  
> -Katie and Alex

_ Frypan finally quit snoring, I guess. _ Minho thought to himself as he lay in his bunk, eyes closed. He was still half asleep, slowing fading in and out of his dreams. He had been having a fantastic dream. Well, less of a dream, more of a memory. A day in the Maze, nearly a year ago now, training Thao. 

_ Training Thao for what, shank. You sure as hell weren’t teaching her to run. _ Minho chuckled lightly and stretched his hands upwards, his fingers dancing lightly against the bottom of Thao’s bunk. He poked through the boards at the mattress, feeling her shift ever-so-slightly above him.

The door flew open, and Minho sat bolt upright, smashing his head on the boards above him. He blinked away stars, swinging his feet off the edge of the bed. Three men came into the room, but Minho couldn’t make them out properly. Everytime he looked at their faces, it was like they were shadows, no features visible. 

His vision swirled, and Minho wasn’t sure if it was because he hit his head, or because these men resembled ghosts. The way they moved scared his, they loomed over them, flickering like shadows. 

They made their way over to the bunk opposite Minho’s, which housed Jackson, and a boy from Group B.  _ Karl.  _ The men reached the bunk, and roughly dragged Jackson off the top bunk, letting his body slam onto the floor. The room immediately broke out into yells of protests, but the men were quick to hush them, holding a gun to Jackson’s head.

Minho hadn’t realised he’d even gotten off the bed, yet here he was, standing in the middle of the room, only a few feet away from the chaos. 

Minho glanced behind him, making fleeting eye contact with Newt. His eyes were wide, and he was halfway between standing and sitting, not really sure which he should do.

“What are you doing? Let him go.” Minho demanded, taking a step forward, only to smash into something solid, but invisible. Minho automatically thought of the invisible barrier between the Gladers and Rat-Man, back before the scorch. 

He staggered back a few steps, his knees hitting his bunk. He fell onto the mattress staring wildly at the air where the barrier was.  _ Trying _ to see something. He was so distracted by the barrier, he nearly forgot about the current situation. 

The sound of flesh hitting flesh sounded throughout the room, and Jackson yelled out in pain. Minho’s eyes flew to the boy’s face, a small bruise already forming on his left cheekbone. One of the men kicked out, hitting the boy in the stomach. Jackson doubled over, trying to shield himself.

One of the men gave him a sharp push, causing him to trip over, smacking his skull into the bunks. He slid to the floor, and lay still for a moment, breathing shallow. One man brought his foot up, sending his heel straight into Jackson’s nose. Blood started spurting everywhere. 

“Stop!” Newt screamed hysterically, getting to his feet. Minho moved towards Newt, in an attempt to pull him back to the bunks. Minho slammed into another barrier. He seemed to be in some sort of box.

Newt moved towards the men, Thomas, Frypan and Thao at his sides within seconds. Thao was quick to grab the gun, which went off, leaving a clean hole through the ceiling. She wrestled the gun out of the man’s hands, and tossed it to Audrey. She caught it, turning it on the men. 

“Get out!” She screamed, stepping forward. One of the men moved towards her, and Newt socked him straight in the ear, causing the man to fall over. The third man, standing beside Thomas, made a quick movement. Reaching behind him, he pulled a gun out of the back of his pants, grabbing Thomas around the neck, holding the gun to his head.

“Drop it sweetcheeks.” The man snarled, and Audrey immediately let the gun fall to the ground. One of the other men gave Thomas a solid punch to the stomach, before he was thrown to the ground. 

“You shucking shuck-faces! I’m going to break your shucking faces!” Minho yelled, pounding on the glass. The man holding the gun grinned at him and turned towards Thao. “No! Stop.”

The man ignored him, hitting Thao across the face with the back of the gun, sending her staggering backwards. She looked up at Minho, blood dripping from her temple. Minho began to panic, screaming and pounding on the box.

The man holding the gun gave one final look to each of the kids, eyes lingering on Minho’s. He turned silently, aiming the gun at Jackson. The boy tried to move back, but the amount of blood pouring from his face, was probably making him woozy. Jackson slammed his eyes closed, trying to shield himself. The man shot the gun, leaving a bullet hole clean through the boy’s skull. 

The room went silent, and the men turned to leave, one of them sending a wink at Minho. They walked from the room, and Minho turned back to look at his friends, who were all staring wide-eyed at the dead boy laying in the middle of the floor.

“What-” The room around him began to disintegrate. He stumbled backwards again, sliding easily onto the bed, pulling his knees to his chest. The room around him slowly morphed until he found himself in a completely different place.

The Scorch.

\---------------------------

Seven people dead in seven days. Minho was being forced to watch these people dies, his friends get hurt, and he was stuck in this damn box. Every Time someone was killed, the scene would change, and Minho would have to live through a full day of this torture, one person being killed at the end. 

Jackson was day one, bullet to the brain. Day two was Beth, the girl from Group B. She was killed in the Scorch by a Crank. Jorge went on day three, drowning in a lake. Day four was the metal ball of goop, it took Clint. On the fifth day, Alexander, Thao’s counterpart, was ripped to shreds by some strange, animalistic creature. Day six, Jordan was beat to death. 

On the seventh night, Minho sat on his bed, sheet wrapped around himself, staring blankly at the plate of food beside him. It just kept appearing there. Just like  _ poof, here’s your food slimjim. _

Minho reached out to grab one of the carrots that lay on them plate, when he notice how hard he was shaking. He quickly pulled his hand back to his chest, clutching it in his other hand, trying hard not to think about what he had just witnessed.

The second the lightning had started, Minho had the sudden realisation that he most definitely had some form of post-traumatic stress, and an immense fear of thunderstorms. As if the storm wasn’t bad enough, it just had to be Frypan. It just had to be Frypan who got hit by the  _ shucking  _ lightning. Minho had heard his screams over the storm, and they were etching themselves into Minho’s mind.

He didn’t want to cry. He knew none of this was real. It was just WICKED pulling something. But maybe it was both. Maybe he did something to make WICKED so mad, they were actually killing his friends. 

Despite his unwillingness to let the tears fall, half an hour later, his eyes hurt, his throat was sore from his own screams, and the sheet was soaked.  _ Quit being such a slinthead _ .

\----------------------------

Day twenty-five. For the past twenty five days he had watched his friends die. There were only two left now, after he’d just seen Audrey stabbed to death by one of those lightbulb creatures from the Scorch. Newt, and Thao stood in front of him now, both looking as tired and devastated as he was. 

Newt’s eyes were red, but he wasn’t crying, only staring out at nothingness. They were glazed over, like he wasn’t really seeing  _ anything _ . He sat, leaning up against the barrier between Minho and his friends. Thao stood beside him, pressing her forehead against the barrier. Minho was doing the same, right in front of her. 

They were in the Maze. The one place he had expected them to go this whole time, and now that everyone was almost gone, they were finally back in the Maze.

“Are they actually killing them? For real?” Minho asked, his hand pressed up against the barrier. Thao placed her hand on top of his, and nodded, tears pooling in the bottom of her eyes. “I want to get out of here.”

“You won’t be safe then, shuck-face.” Newt laughed bitterly, banging his head against the barrier. 

“Then you two need to find a way in here.” Minho suggested, trying to find an exit to the box yet again. To no one’s surprise there wasn’t one. He walked over to the bed, slumping down. 

“Minho, what are ya going to do when we’re both dead?” Thao asked, taking her weight off the barrier. 

“Sit in here and grow old, I guess.” Minho shrugged. “How are we-”

“Arrrgh!” Newt yelled. Minho shot to his feet, looking over to find Newt laying on his back.  _ On his back. The barrier! _ Minho ran forward, dropping to his knees beside the boy and pulling him into a hug. “Alright, alright, no need to get all sensitive, I ain’t hurt.” Newt groaned, trying to push Minho of of him.

He felt a hand in his hair, messing it up. He smiled, leaning into Thao’s touch. “This is probably a really bad thing.” She admitted, squatting behind him,so her knees were on either side of his waist. 

“Probably.” Minho agreed, leaning back into her slightly, not enough to knock her over, but just enough to keep her there. 

“Probably means we’re all dying in here.” Newt scoffed, leaning on his elbows. 

“Probably.” Minho and Thao whispered. A scream, a haunting scream, echoed throughout the maze.  _ No. No, it can’t be a-. _

“Griever.” Thao whispered, jumping to her feet. She grabbed both of the boys, yanking them up. “Let’s go!”

The three of them took off running. Minho could hear the griever behind him, it’s metallic legs scraping along the floor. “Shuck! Run!” Minho yelled, panic rising in his stomach. The came to a fork in the road, paths leading off in three different directions. They all split off.

Minho realised, as he was running around a corner, that this wasn’t their maze. It was a completely different layout, and there was no way that they wouldn’t get lost. He rounded a corner, coming face to face with a griever. He yelled in shock, scrambling to turn around, and taking off again. 

“Newt! Thao!” He called. Usually he would have been quite, try to avoid the Griever’s attention, but by this point he was already their prey. He ran harder, terrified of running into a dead end.  _ Shuck. Shuck. Shuck. _

He skid around another corner, a pair of grievers not far in front of him. He took a deep, shuddering breath, running towards them, and slipping down another hall only about five feet away from them. 

He ran hard, feet pounding the stone floor, echoing off the walls. One more corner and he collided with Thao. She was staring at the ground in front of her, face pale. He turned quickly, expecting to see a herd of Grievers making their way towards them. The sight he received, however, was much, much worse.

On the floor, three feet away, was the broken body of their broken boy. He felt a swirl of emotions run through his veins, replacing the adrenaline that had been their only seconds before. It soon returned, however, as the clicking and swirling got closer and closer. 

“Thao, run. We gotta run.” He slipped his hand into hers, pulling harshly. She made a noise of protest, trying to pull him back. “He’s gone, Thay. Dead. Okay? You’re all I have left, now run!” 

He didn’t give her an option this time, dragging her harshly away. She gripped his hand tighter as they ran, now ahead of him, pulling him along. They ran together, pulling each other down random hallways until they no longer heard the grievers. 

Minho stopped, collapsing to the ground and pulling Thao into his lap. “I think they’re gone.” He whispered into her hair, wrapping his arms around her tightly. He suddenly remembered the image of his broken best friend lying in a pool of his own blood, eyes staring at the ceiling, chest still. “He’s dead.” His voice broke, and he buried his face into Thao’s hair. 

“Why’d he do that?” She whispered, wrapping her arms tightly around him. “He could have outrun them.” Minho felt the tears falling from his eyes, wetting Thao’s hair.

“I don’t know. I don’t know.” He sobbed, holding her closely. The grievers didn’t return that day. The pair stayed still, huddled together, sadness dragging them into silence. Sometime during the night, or day, or whatever, there was no sky, they both fell asleep. 

When Minho awoke next, Thao was still in his arms, and they were still in the Maze. “What’s going on?” He whispered, his voice deep and crackly from crying and from sleep. 

“I don’t know. WICKED is shucked in the head.” She admitted, looking at him. They held eye contact for a few moments, before leaning towards each other. “I don’t want to die, Min. I’m going to die today.”

“No,” Minho reached out, grabbing her face in his hands. The pair were so close, their breath was mingling. “Hey, that’s not going to happen. I promise I won’t let that happen, okay?” Thao nodded, pulling him closer and crashing their lips together. He tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling her even closer. It was rushed and desperate, a mess of teeth and tongue, but it was so  _ them _ that Minho couldn’t help but smile. 

They realised the griever’s presence only a second too late, having been caught up in their own world. It was on top of them within seconds, and Minho had to physically throw Thao away, kicking at the griever, in order to avoid being torn to shreds. The pair scrambled to their feet, slipping on the slime left by the Griever. They managed to steady themselves, and bolted away, the griever close on their tail.

“Min!” Thao shouted, veering left. Minho didn’t have enough time to slow down and follow her, so he pushed himself harder, trying to find a way to get around to her. He could hear her screaming for him, but he could do nothing except yell for her to “Run!” 

His heart was pounding, tears already springing to his eyes. He heard her screams, and ran towards them. It took what felt like hours to get around to where she was. He finally rounded the corner, just in time to see a griever pierce her through the stomach with one of their giant spikes. 

The griever looked at him, rolling away a few feet. Minho ran forward, falling to his knees beside her dying body. Her breathing was shallow and staggered. He reached out, one hand pressing on the wound, the other tangling itself in her hair again. 

“Thay. Please, don’t.” He sobbed, pressing his forehead to hers. He stared into her eyes, watching the life slowly fade from them.

“You-” She took a deep breath, eyes watering as it became harder for her to breathe. “You promised.” 

“Thao, I know, I’m so sorry. Please,stay with me okay? Okay love?” He felt his heart drop to his stomach, tears freely flowing down his face. 

“I hate you Minho.” She choked out. Her body stilled, eyes rolling back.

“No.” He sobbed, getting to his feet, and walking over to the griever. “Shucking kill me.” He yelled, unsure if his words were even coherent, due to his sobs. “Kill me!”

The sounds of compressed gas being let out rang throughout the Maze, and the room began to transform again. This time, it transformed into a grey room, the bed back on the other side. The room was the same dimensions as the barrier had been. On the opposite wall, right behind where the Griever had been only seconds earlier, was an open door, a man standing in it.  _ Ratman _ .

“Congratulations on completing your third trial, Minho. Don’t worry, your friends are all alive, and relatively unharmed.” Minho was thankful for his Runner reflexes as his fist collided with Rat Man’s jaw.


	2. Audrey

_ Something’s wrong _ . She knew that before she even opened her eyes. She couldn’t feel Newt’s arm that was usually draped over her in a protective manner, especially once they’d been out in the Scorch. She couldn’t even feel his presences, or anyone else's presence near her.    


Slowly, she sat up and let her eye adjust to the room she was in.  _ When did we move to a room? _ She thought, before realizing she was the only one in the room. She glanced around, trying to remember how she could’ve ended up here.  _ Don’t freak out, breath.  _ _   
_

The room didn’t have much in it. Just the bed she was on, and a chair that was facing a blank wall. There was a small bathroom with toilet and sink only, off to the right of the room, but it didn’t have a door on it. And no windows.  _ What is going on? _

Then, a voice appeared from nowhere. “Morning, please move to the chair.”    


She slowly stood up and looked around the room to find where the voice came from. It was like that creep in the dark hallway all over again.    


“What did you do with my friends?” She asked, not following the instructions. “Where am I?”    


“Please move to the chair.”    


“No.” She crossed her arms, sitting back down on the bed. The blank wall the chair was facing lit up, Newt on the screen.    


“Please move to the chair.” It repeated again, and she slowly got up. There was no doubt that it was Newt she was looking at, but he looked younger than she’d ever seen him. Probably two or three years younger.    


“What is this?”    


“Move to the chair.” The voice said, sounding much harsher this time. She moved to stand in front of it, looking at the screen more. It flashed suddenly, and changed to present day Newt, looking absolutely terrified. She sat down instantly, scared something might happen to him if she disobeyed again. “Very good.”    


“What’s going on? What did you do to him?” She asked, before a thick metal strap came around her torso. “What are you people doing?” She asked, trying to pull the strap off her.    


“Please sit still.”    


“Why?”    


“Audrey, sit still.” The voice sounded so familiar, yet she was sure she’d never heard it before.    


“Tell me what’s going on!” She begged, and the screen changed again.   


“Focus on the screen.” So she did, she looked up at the screen and watched as it rapidly changed from one memory to another, showing different points of her life since she first came up from the box.    


“I don’t understand.” She mumbled, watching as it played a scene from one of her earlier days in the Glade. It was a day she’d spent with Newt before they’d kissed. They were laughing, but she couldn’t hear it. 

“These are all the moments we’ve ever altered for our benefit. Every single one we have ever changed.” The voice explained, sounding too calm.    


“What?”      


“You were worried that you’re relationship was based on manipulation and mind control. We’re showing you what parts of all your friendships were.” It sounded happy, like it wasn’t stating that WICKED was going to show her that everything she cared about was a lie. But there was nothing she could do but watch as the screen showed everything to her.    


“Why?”    


“Because it was worrying you.” The voice said sweetly. She wanted to punch whoever it belonged to. “And now it won’t. Now you’ll know.”    


“I don’t want to know! I take it back.” She yelled, squeezing her eyes shut.    


“Then we will tell you about all the further alterations we have predicted.”    


“No!” She opened her eyes and focused on the screen. “I’ll watch.”    


“We will tell you about the future alterations we have predicted at a later time.” The voice agreed, before continuing to flash moments across the screen. Each one making Audrey feel like she was being stabbed in the chest.    


\---------- 

Days past, she wasn’t sure how many. All she knew is that she got food maybe once every two days, and water everyday.    


When she wasn’t eating or sleeping, she was in the chair letting the voice explain to her just what awful mind control WICKED had inflicted on her, and how it had affected her relationships with everyone she cared about.    


Today wasn’t going to be any different. They’d wake her up with a blaring alarm, and it wouldn’t stop until she was strapped in the chair. She was always up before it, thinking about every second she didn’t see on the screen. Those moments were real, they were who she was, who her friends were.    


The alarm blared and she slowly got up and moved to sit on the chair, waiting for the voice she had come to hate to say good morning.    


“Morning Love.” She froze, and held her breath. _ No, it was a trick _ . “Ready to begin?” She was going to throw up.  _ It can’t be you, you wouldn’t.  _ _   
_

“Why do you sound like him?” She asked angrily, glaring at the blank wall.     


“Today, we’re going to talk about all the future alterations WICKED has planned for us. Are you ready to begin?” She didn’t have to answer, and today she couldn’t. Newt. It was Newt’s voice today. _But it couldn’t be him, he would never…_   


“I don't want you to sound like him.”    


“Would you prefer this?” Minho’s voice, but when he’s snarky and agitated.   


“Stop!”    


“What about this?” Thao now.    


“No!”    


“C’mon then, pick one.” Newt again. She felt like crying, she couldn’t sit here all day and listen to this in one of their voices.     


“Enough. None. You’re annoying normal voice.”    


“That’s rather rude, love. You should really try to be nice to WICKED. They are good after all.”    


“Stop it! He wouldn’t say that.”    


“He would if we made him.” The voice taunted, and Audrey felt a tear roll down her cheek.  _ Damn it, you were doing so well.  _   


“Just get on with it then.” She sighed, staring at the screen. It lit up, showing Newt.  _ Not today, please no. _ But this was different compared to everything else she’d seen.    


“This is a live feed of what Newt is doing.” It felt weird to have Newt’s voice fill her in about what he was doing, but she ignored it and looked around.    


“No, he’s in the Maze here. It can’t be live.”    


“It’s his trial. Reliving what happened to him, all alone.” When the shoot zoomed out, Audrey could see that this Maze was much smaller.    


“No.”    


“He’s been coping quite well too… until now.” The voice taunted, and Audrey watched as Newt climbed up the wall.    


“No! Stop it! Please.” She begged, thrashing around in her chair even if she couldn’t get out. To her surprize, he started to climb down a few seconds later. “Why’d you do that?”    


“Variables Love. And to prove we have utter control over everything you and your friends do.” Despite that the voice was Newt’s now, she still wanted to punch whoever was behind it. But instead, she had to sit there and listen to every torturous word it said.   


Hours past, and the screen flickered off, and the metal strap undid. She ran to the bathroom, throwing up the other days meal. She would never be able to remember everything it had told her today, but she would never forget either.    


She quickly cleaned up, washing her hair in the sink with the automatic soap dispenser, and used her blanket as a towel.    


It wasn’t ideal, but she planned to get out at some point. As soon as that door opened, and she wasn’t strapped to a chair, she would fight her way out.    


She turned to the bed, unwrapping her hair and shaking the blanket off. Two or three days ago, she decided she’d wash her clothes every few days before bed, hang them out to dry overnight and slip them back on in the morning. It was the only way to keep the smell from making her puke.    


_ This can’t go on forever. It’ll stop soon. They’ll run out of stuff to tell you. You’ll get out. You’ll find Newt, Thao, Minho and the others. You are okay.  _   


Before she knew it over a week passed since she first woke up in this hell. She didn’t want to get up today. They’d started to drill the same information in her head, piling it all up and making her unable to retain most of it.     


“Morning.” Minho’s voice greeted her today, sounding snarky and pissed. She was glad it wasn’t the normal lady, she always made the worst scenarios sound like a pizza party.    


“Just get on with it.”    


“Someone’s in a mood. Are you PMSing?” Minho’s voice teased, and Audrey hated it. As the days went on, each time one of her friends voices rang out through the room they got better at saying what her friends would actually say if they were there.    


“Piss off and start the bloody thing.”    


“Right. Here ya go, Shank.” 

And another day of torture started all over again. 

 

\---------------------------------

 

Another week seemed to fly by, and she didn’t know how long she’d been trapped in this room.    


Her meal had just been slide under the door, same as it had been everyday. A slab of ham,mashed potatoes, raw carrots and a slice of bread. With a tall glass of water. She ate half, and drank all the water.    


After today’s go at the chair, she wasn’t really in the mood to eat much. Or do much of anything. Instead, she crawled up onto her bed and curled up into a small ball trying to push out as many awful thoughts as she could.    


Then, the unexpected happened. Her door opened, and the Rat Man entered. She sat up right away and backed up against the wall.    


“Good evening Audrey.” He smiled, staying just outside her door.    


“Is it?” She snapped, watching as he entered the room, and a desk appeared for him. _ Great.  _ “Why are you here? Using my friends voices to tell me all the horrible things you’ve done not working well enough anymore?”    


“Actually, those results have been quite helpful. But I’m here to tell you some good news.”    


“Define good. Or are you just going to lie to me again?”    


“Audrey.” Rat Man warned, but she was too upset to care.    


“What? Are you going to tell me you’ve never lied to me? What about the cure? What about having the flare?”    


“You do have the Flare, Audrey.”    


“Then why aren’t I showing any symptoms? That lady on the fake bus ride told us what they were, what the Flare does.”    


“Because, you’re immune.” Rat Man said, a twisted smile on his face.    


“And I’m just supposed to believe you?”    


“I know we’ve lied to you in the past, but David was right in saying that the time for lies is over.”    


“Oh really? Yay, that’s so great. Thank you.” Audrey said sarcastically.  

“Look, we’ve done awful things to you and your friends. We have. But it was all part of a much bigger plan. A plan to find the cure.”    


“So telling us we’ll receive the cure when we reached the safe haven, that was bullshit.”    


“Not quite. You will receive the cure, once we have what we need in order to make it.”    


“And how does torturing teenagers get you that?”    


“By analyzing your brain patterns to build a blueprint for the potential cure. The lives lost, the pain and suffering…. It has all helped us get a deeper understanding.”    


“That’s sick.”    


“Would you prefer everyone not immune turn into a Crank before they die?” Rat Man countered. Audrey didn’t respond. Her head was spinning, nothing was making any sense. “Now.” He started, a few minutes later. “Would you like a proper shower?”    


“What?”    


“A proper shower, instead of bathing in your sink. Do you want one?”    


“What's the catch?”    


“Your third trial is over Audrey, we’ve gotten the results we needed from you.”    


“But.. You’re just going to let me walk out?” She was so confused. They were just going to let her go now? She knew about future… and then it dawned on her. She didn’t know anything. It was all a game. Or they knew they’d given her too much information for her to remember anything clearly.    


“Yes. To shower. And then to see your friends. The one’s who passed the trials, anyways.” She instantly thought of Newt in the miniature Maze, and wondered if he was alright. She hoped he was. She got up and followed him out the door, looking down the hallway at all the rest of the closed doors. Each one had the subject letters scrawled on it.    


“Keep up.” Rat Man reminded her, and she quickly followed behind, knowing that pain could be inflected on someone else if she didn’t listen. 

But then she passed a room with Subject A5 on the door, and she couldn’t walk past it. She had to stop.    


“Is he still in there?” She asked, looking at the door. _ If he’s still in there, you bang on that door. _

“He will be out shortly.” Rat Man answered, and Audrey took a step closer. Before Rat Man had time to interfere with her plan she started pounding on the door.    


“We’re right out here Newt, all of us!” She screamed. She didn’t care what they did to her, as long as she had at least tried to let him out. “Right here!” And she kept screaming until a bodyguard covered her mouth and muffled her words.    


“Audrey.. I wish you hadn’t done that.” Rat Man sighed, as bodyguards pulled her back and escorted her to the shower.    


“What? Didn’t predict that?”    


“No we did, and we told you about it.” Rat Man said, before closing the door and leaving her alone in the bathroom to shower. 


	3. Newt

_ This bunk is surprisingly uncomfortable considering I’ve spent the last two weeks sleeping on the sand. _ He thought, rolling on his side and reaching out for Audrey thinking she would be right there.    


“Auds?” He mumbled, when his hand hit a hard, cold floor. Nothing. “Audrey?” He mumbled, slowly sitting up and looking around. But he wasn’t in the bunk with Audrey anymore, he was in the Maze.    


“What the shuck?” Newt jumped to his feet, examining the walls carefully and starting to walk around. There was no way out, no door, no Glade. Not anyone else in here with him. He was alone.    


He tried to think about how this had happened. The last thing he remembered before waking up here was falling asleep with Audrey’s head on his chest, cuddled against him. How did he get here? Where was she? What about Minho, Thao and everyone else?   


A few hours later, he’d figured out that although it was the Maze, it wasn’t. It was much, much smaller. So he was trapped in a smaller replica of the Maze, alone.    
With no food, no water and nothing to go on.    


“So this is the end eh? Just going to chuck me back in here and let me die alone?” He yelled, beating on the ivy covered walls. They had to be watching, the sick bastards.    


He stopped a few hours later, leaning against the wall and just thinking to himself. Or with WICKED’s mind control.    


Eventually, he stopped fighting with himself in his head. Instead he decided to think about the last night on the Berg, even if the memories were only going to hurt him looking back. He closed his eyes and thought back to when David had let them go shower, and how he’d teased Audrey continuously before stealing her shower. And after that, when they’d gotten ready  for bed and he’d pulled Audrey to his side, wrapping his arms around her.   


“What did you shuck-faces do with her? With all my friends?” He asked, opening his eyes and looking up at the ceiling.    


There was no answer, he hadn’t expected there to be. They were probably all dead, or going to be dead just like he was. He’d never know, and there was no way out of this place so he would be dead before he ever knew.    


The next few hours passed by and soon he had gotten use to the idea of staying where he was for the rest of his life, starving right there thinking back to the good memories he had. He’d die and it would all be over. WICKED would never have control over him again, he’d be free.    


Was that him talking, or them?    


His head hurt, and despite trying to focus on the good all he could think about were the bad. And the people they’d lost, from the time they escaped the Maze until now.    


It was just him left. Him and the walls of this Maze. 

 

\----------------- 

 

Forever passed, and food had appeared a few times. Just appeared out of nowhere, right before his eyes.  _ So they don’t want me to starve to death then.  _ He’d through the first time he saw the tray. 

It was torturous, not knowing how long he’d been in here. He guessed about a week and an half by now, give or take a few hours. But the ceiling was the same grey it had been when the doors didn’t close back in the real Maze.    


But what was worse was seeing the ivy covered walls every single day, like they were taunting him.    


On the tenth day, he’d had enough.    


“What do you want from me? Huh?” He yelled, pulling at the ivy on the wall. It didn’t budge, and snapped back to the wall the second he let go.  _ Strong enough to hold you, shank.  _   


And it was, because he climbed it. All the way to the top of the ivy, looking down at the ground. “Is this what you want? Want me to bloody jump again?” He said, looking up at the ceiling. There hadn’t been an answer yet, but it didn’t stop him from screaming at them sometimes. “I could jump, right now, end it all!”    


But suddenly, all he could think about was Audrey.  _ You can’t give up on her yet, she wouldn’t give up on you.  _ So he climbed back down, and kicked the wall with his shuck leg. The physical pain made it easier to stop thinking about her, and how he’d already given up when she never would. 

A few days passed before he was climbing the wall again. He’d attack his shuck leg so much that it didn’t even hurt when he kicked the wall anymore, it was just numb. All feelings were lost, and it was driving him crazy. Now he had to focus on the emotional pain, and the heartache he felt whenever he thought about his friends.    


_They’re gone. I’m never seeing them again._   


He reached the top of the ivy again and looked down at the bottom of the shuck maze.    


_ What if it’s like last time and you don’t die? No one is here to save you this time shank.  _   


He shook his head and turned around, preparing himself to jump.    


“I’m going to do it this time.” He said, shaking his head. 

_ Not even the thought of Audrey, Minho or Thao will stop me this time. This is better. You can’t be a lab rat if you’re dead, they’ll understand if they’re still out there.  _

 

\-------------

 

By the third time he’d tried to jump, he’d realized that WICKED wasn’t going to let him die. Each time, as he was falling down towards the ground it would turn soft as if he were landing on a huge, soft mattress.    


It frustrated him to no end.  _ Why stick me in here if ya won’t let me die?  _   


He couldn’t figure it out. He was isolated, and in the one place he never wanted to see again. But what was the point? What about the cure? Where they just going to leave him in here to become a Crank? Monitor him as he went insane?    


So, he kept jumping. Because every time he jumped, he would black out for a while. He didn’t know how long, but there were no nightmares and he didn’t have to think about anything. 

Because when he wasn’t blacked out, all he could think about where his friends. He had failed them, and continued to fail them. And Audrey, god how he’d failed her.    


_ You never even told her you loved her to her face you shuck-face. You’re an awful boyfriend, she’s better off without ya. She’ll move on, if she’s not dead or a Crank. And she’ll be happy again. Her optimism will get her through anything, it’s got her this far. It got both of you this far.  _ _   
_

He wanted to scream, but instead he lay there and tried to build up enough energy to climb up the wall again. His thoughts were a constant reminder that he’d let her down, abandoned her, wasn't strong enough for her.    


_There has to be an easier way to do this. There has to be another way to make it stop._   


He opened his eyes and looked up at the ivy-covered walls.  _ That's it! That's how, the ivy. _   


If he could muster enough strength to get up, then maybe he could rip it down.    


_ You go through with this and you’re admitting defeat. WICKED wins, and you really do fail everyone. What would Audrey think if she found out? How much would it hurt her, knowing you chose death over her? _ _   
_

His brain couldn’t make up its mind. Give up or fight, give up or fight? He’d already given up multiple times. What difference did it make if he gave up once last time.    


_ It could work, it could really actually work. Do you honestly, really truly want to die? And by strangling yourself with ivy vines? How pathetic are you?  _ _   
_

Sighing, he gave up on giving up. Instead he let himself fall back asleep, too exhausted to do anything else and too emotionally drained to care if he had nightmares or not.   


_ Bring it on, nothing can be worse than this hell I’m in when I’m awake.  _

 

\-------------

 

Banging. Weeks after he’d woken up in this place, he woke up to loud, frantic banging.    


“We’re all right here Newt, all of us! Right here!” Audrey’s voice screamed, but it was muffled. She had to be on the other side of a wall. He was on his feet in seconds, running to the spot he could hear the banging.    


The closer he got, the farther away her voice got.  _ They must be taking her away. They are out there, and they have her.  _ _   
_

He looked at the spot, a wall covered in ivy. There had to be a door under it all then. So he ripped at it, pulling it away and banging back, but Audrey’s voice vanished. He kept pulling the ivy down, and revealed the outline of a door, with a small window.    


“Where’d you take her?” He yelled, trying to make himself tall enough to look out the small window slit. All he could see was white. He banged on the door, trying to get it to open frantically, desperately. “Don’t you shuck-faces hurt her!”    


An hour passed, maybe two. He didn’t move from the door, he couldn’t. She’d been there, on the other side of the door and he was too busy to save her.    


_ I’m sorry Auds, I should’ve been stronger. I should’ve fought harder, gotten out of this hell and found you sooner.  _ _   
_

Then, the door started to move. It made a small puffing noise as it opened, causing Newt to stumble backwards and stare at it. _What was going to happen next?_   


“Mr. Newton.” Rat Man, Newt was sure he’d said his name was Janson in the dorm room all those weeks ago. “Seems like your trials will have to end earlier than we anticipated.”    
Trial? So there was a third phase. And this was a test, a stupid test.    


“Where’s Audrey? What have you done to her? To everyone?”    


“Calm down Mr. Newton. She’s fine, just finished showering. Which is why I’m here, to get you for your shower.”    


“Why should I believe you?”    


“You right, we’ve lied a few times. But not anymore, and if you want to see your friends again it would be best if you cooperated with us.”    


“I want to see her.”    


“Wouldn’t you like to… clean up first?” Janson asked, pointing out the odor. He hadn’t been able to change or shower in weeks.    


“I want to see her first.” Newt insisted, hoping they’d let him. They have to let me, if they don't, I’ll go find her myself.    


“Very well.” Janson rolled his eyes, and walked out of the door. “C’mon then, no point in wasting time.”    


Newt followed him out, slowly. The second he stepped out into the hallway, everything shrunk. No more impossibly tall walls, with ivy sprawled all over the place. Instead, everything was very clean, and white. Pictures of nature were hung on the walls, and doors each were marked with different subject numbers.    


Janson lead him down the hallway, past a locker room to a small dining area. No one was in there, but the door at the other end opened a few seconds later and guards were pushing a rather frantic Audrey through the door. Her hair was damp, and droplets fell onto her beige t-shirt, making it slightly see through.    


“Assholes.” She muttered to herself as the door closed, looking at the ground. Newt suddenly wished he’d taken the offer to shower first, he stunk. But it didn’t matter now, and he was rushing over to her seconds later, wrapping his arms around her torso and pulling her against him. She’s real, this is her, this is actually really her.    


She seemed to panic, momentarily fighting him off. You scared her you shuck-face, speak.    


“Shh. Sorry I… you’re okay.” He whispered, knotting his fingers in her hair. He’d started crying at some point, and his vision blurred as she pulled back to confirm it was him.    
He waited for her to register it was him, but she still looked panicked.  _ What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?  _ He wanted to ask, but he didn’t know how. Especially with Janson standing right there, looking over them. 

“You’re really Newt?” Audrey finally asked, looking up and him and analysing his face. The question confused him, who else did he look like? But he just nodded in response.    


“Mr.Newton has to shower now, freshen up.” Janson said, clearing his throat. Audrey just kept staring at him, as if she were trying to decide if she believed him of not.  _ What did they do to you? _ He wondered, pulling her in for another hug before kissing her forehead.    


“I’ll be right back love, I promise.” He whispered, and she’d flinched in his arms at the nickname. She looked up at him as he pulled away, before looking over at Janson.    


“I need another.”    


“Audrey…” Janson warned, seconds away from sighing.    


“No. You aren’t… I’m going with him.” She insisted. Newt couldn’t help it, he thought back to the last time they had gone for a shower. A smile almost took over his face, almost.    
Janson sighed and gestured for the both of them to follow, so Newt threw his arm around Audrey’s waist and pulled her beside him before walking out the door.    


“I’m really glad you’re okay. I’d thought they’d hurt you or something, after I heard you banging on the door.” He mumbled.    


She nodded, before making eye contact with him. “I know what you’re trial was. They made me watch some of it for mine.” Her voice was surprisingly gentle, for how upset she looked.    


“Wha---” He started, not knowing what to say. _ What had they shown her? Him jumping?  _ _   
_

“And I’m really glad you are alright, too.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek, cutting him off.  _ Just what exactly had WICKED done to her? If they had been as cruel to shove me back in the Maze, what had they done to her? To Minho, and Thao? To everyone?  _


	4. Thao

The world smelt clean. The scent of sweat and blood, which Thao thought would be forever etched into her mind, was simply gone from all existence. It was also cold. The room she was in had air conditioning. It was odd to think that they had just come out of a place like the Scorch, but people still had the capability to feel  _ cold.  _ And then there was that annoying beeping noise. 

Thao groaned, the beeping sound was agitating a very intense headache. She was disappointed to find that her groan had not actually stopped the beeping. Slowly, she opened her eyes. The room was blindingly white, forcing her to blink at the ceiling a few times until her eyes were able to adjust. 

“Thao.” She knew that voice. She  _ hated _ that voice. She turned her head, coming face to face with Rat Man. 

“Praise the shuckin’ lord, my saviour is here.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes at the man. “Did you enjoy the show, Rat Man? Did you like watching Frankie’s head turn into a metal ball? Were you overjoyed when Minho was set on fire by lightning? Did it turn you on when him and I made out in the mountains?”

“My name is Janson. I’m the Assistant Director here at WICKED.” He explained, lip curling slightly at her snide remarks. “How is your hand?”

“Hurts like a mother-” Thao paused, actually thinking about her response. “It-it’s fine.” She looked down at her shuck hand, finding something much different than she was used to. It was half flesh, half metal, reminding her of a Griever. Her missing fingers had been replaced by bionic ones, and so had the missing sections of her palm. Parts of her other fingers were also replaced with metal. She tried to move her hand, it moved normally; all of it.

“I figured you might like that.” Janson started, gesturing at her hand. “The others weren’t so keen on the idea, as it has really taken a toll on our plans. After further examination, we realised we had two options. One, cut it off mid-forearm, or two, reconstruct it. Either way, it was quite an invasive procedure. Don’t worry though, it will function just as well as your original hand, and will last forever.” 

“Oh.” Thao was still transfixed by her hand. The way it moved was fascinating, acting like real appendages. “Thank you.” He nodded at her. “I hope you don’t expect me to give you anything in return, Janson. It was your fault.” She pointed out.

“No, I ask nothing in return.” He told her gently. She nodded, looking around the room. 

“Where are the others?” She asked, hoping they were all okay. 

“Participating in their third trials.” Janson spoke calmly again. It was infuriating. “Due to your hand, you were not able to begin your third trial on time and-”

“Third trial? Please tell me your shuck-face is joking right now, Janson.” Thao felt the anger radiating off her body. “You promised no more trials.” 

“Too many of you survived.” He said simply, shrugging his shoulders. “Thao, you were unable to begin your third trial on time, therefore we have had to-”

“Take me to them!” She yelled, her hands shaking.

“I am only going to ask you once not to interrupt me, Thao. It is rude, I would hope you’d have better manners.” She glared at him, but didn’t speak. “We have had to improvise your third trial, in order to achieve the same results, in a shorter amount of time.” 

“How long have I been out?”

“One week.” Janson answered. “Now, if you’re ready, you can follow me, and we will begin your third trial.” He rose to his feet, walking to stand beside the door. “You can walk over here by yourself, or we can make you Thao, it’s really easier for all of us if you just cooperate.” 

Thao sighed, throwing the thin sheet off of her body, and sitting on the edge of the bed. Her head swam for a moment, presumably from laying down for so long. Once she could see straight again, she slid off the bed, walking into the hallway past the door. 

It was a long, white hallway, metal doors lining both walls. He led her down the hall, past the first set of doors. Each door had a number and a letter. On her right, the door read A16. Thao knew that was either Clara or Jordan, but she could not remember which one. The opposing door read B15. She had no idea who that was. 

She read each number off the doors as they went, trying to match each code with a person. About two thirds down the hallway, she saw the dreaded letter-number code. A7.  _ Minho. _ She stopped, standing facing the door. 

“Please keep walking Thao.” Janson called from two doors down. She took a step closer, reaching her hand out to touch the metal ‘A’. “Thao, you have five seconds to follow, or you will be restrained.” 

She glanced down the hallway, smirking at the impatient man waiting for her. Slowly, she dropped her hand from the ‘A’, letting it fall to her side. Before Jason had time to react, her hand shot toward the handle.  _ Locked _ . Two strong hands grabbed her wrists, pulling them behind her back. A pair of handcuffs were placed around her arms, and she was marched down the hallway to Janson.

He grabbed her arm, and the strong hands disappeared from Thao. She heard the person walk down the hall, but didn’t bother to look at who it could have been. Janson pulled her into the room roughly. 

It was small and dark. The walls were bare, except for a door that stood opposite the one they had entered through. In the center of the room, sat a single desk. A tall screen was placed on one side, and a chair on the other. 

Janson pulled on Thao harshly again, forcing her into the chair. “Who knew you were so kinky Janson. Like it rough, do ya?” Janson walked over to the door again, shutting the door. It made an odd sealing noise, and Thao was sure there was some technology preventing her from leaving through it. 

Janson walked back over to Thao, taking her handcuffs off. “This is all yours, Thao. It will only respond to you. Just put your hand here, and it will turn on.” He pointed to a dark gray ring on the glass desk. She placed her hand in the ring, and the entire desk lit up. “Congratulations, Thao. You are officially a member of WICKED.”

Thao swallowed thickly. “This is how we monitored you in the Maze, and in the Scorch. This is how we control the variables.” Janson looked very proud of the device as he explained it. “Your job, is to monitor the other subjects, and record their brain and hormonal patterns as they react to variables. The variables you will be giving to them, of course.”

“No.” Thao shook her head, staring at the screen in horror. “I am not doing that.” 

“Yes, Thao, you will do that.” Janson assured her. “You will be monitoring five of our subjects closely, but you also have access to any of the other subjects.” 

“I am not doing that.” Thao stressed. “You cannot make me.” 

“I’m afraid if you are refusing, we are going to have to make you.” Janson reached forward, pressing open a file that said B19. Footage of a young girl popped up. She had long, red hair, and a face full of freckles. Thao recognized her from the Group B.

“This is Victoria.” Janson told her. “Victoria, like the others, is facing a trial based on their worst fears. Victoria’s fear of spiders was one of the easiest for us to set up. Corner her with a few giant spiders, trick her into thinking she was waking up from a nightmare, repeat.”

Thao’s heart pounded, that poor girl. 

“Unfortunately for Victoria, you are unwilling to cooperate.” Janson told Thao, before typing a few commands into the program. Thao watched Victoria. On the right side of the screen was the map of a brain, different shades of blue highlighting different parts, showing different brain activity.

Janson took a step back. Thao watched in fear as small spiders started to crawl from under the bed and the walls in Victoria’s room. She screamed, jumping onto the bed. Millions of spiders swarmed, crawling up the bed frame and across the covers, reaching her feet. They began to crawl all over her body, biting into her skin.

The poor girl screamed in terror and pain, falling off of the bed, and into the mass of spiders. They kept attacking her, and even though she was fully engulfed and buried under the bugs, she kept screaming. Only a few moments later, the screaming stopped, The spiders began to flow out of the room again, leaving a swollen, bleeding mass where Victoria had disappeared. 

“I assume you’re much more willing to participate?” Jason asked Thao. She didn’t speak, only stared at the screen in horror. “Unless you want us to kill someone else with their trial? A4 perhaps?”

“No! No, I’ll do it.” Thao hurried, staring at the girl’s brain scan. It was black, no area highlighted. “This is shucked up.” She murmured, shaking her head. 

“Alright Thao, let’s get to it then.” Janson pointed to the files on the screen. “Pick one of these five.” A1, A2, A4, A5, and A7. “Don’t worry, I’m only showing you how to input a command, nothing bad will happen to them.” Thao still didn’t move. “Alright, well let’s take a peek at Newton. Now.”

She quickly reached out, tapping the file that read A5. When the footage popped up, Thao thought she had hit the wrong one. The screen displayed stone walls covered in ivy.  _ The Maze _ . Newt sat slumped against a wall, head in his hands. 

“He’s been in their a week already?” Thao asked, aghast. Janson nodded. She turned back to look at the screen, watching his slowly rise to his feet. He started to wander through the walls, kicking at broken bits of walls. 

“Alright, so pull up this little bar here,” Janson pointed. Thao did what he asked. “Here,” He pointed to what appeared to be a messaging system in the corner of the screen. “Is where you will receive your commands.”

A small speech bubble popped up. 

**A5: 0684751**

“That means that you go to A5’s profile, like we did, pull up the box, and type this in. Go ahead.” Thoa hesitated, but typed the number in, hitting the enter key. A part of Newt’s brain scan flared yellow, and the boy tripped, and fell on his face. 

“That’s terrible.” Thao spat, watching Newt struggle to heave himself up. She looked at his brain scan, it was much darker than Victoria’s had been. Before she died, that was. “That’s depression.” She pointed out, gesturing to the darker spots. 

“That’s right, Thao.” Janson nodded, a sick smile on his face. “Now, get to work, I’ll come visit you later. Don’t forget to record what you find.”

\------------------------

Thao was allowed to walk out the unsealed door whenever she wished, but only for three hours a day. It was a bright white room, where all of WICKED’s staff gathered to eat. She was able to interact with them at anytime of the day. There were three doors leading off the cafeteria. One was a washroom, equipped with a full shower. The next was a small room with a treadmill, Thao utilized this heavily. The third was locked, and led to the rest of WICKED, where Thao was clearly not allowed to go.

Thao currently sat in front of her screen, having just returned from a run, and a shower. She was watching Minho. His eyes had lost their spark, and he would sit, staring at the end of his bed aimlessly, when he wasn’t being thrown into a scenario. She watched as more and more darkness filled his brain scan everyday.

A bleeping sounded out in the small room, reverberating off the walls. Thao looked to the message window.

**A2: 0089765**

Thomas. She tapped away from Minho, pulling up Thomas’s file. Thao was fairly impressed with Thomas. Unlike the rest of her friends, he showed no signs of depression, only more determination. 

He was currently doing some intense push ups. Thao spent a lot of time closely observing Thomas’s progress, specifically for the fact that the boy was constantly working out. She typed in the code quickly, praying it wasn’t anything too bad. With isolation as a trial, there wasn’t many variables that could be thrown at him.

Thomas’s arm collapsed beneath him, and he fell face first onto the ground. Thao almost laughed,  _ almost _ , but she didn’t want to give WICKED the satisfaction. 

Thomas pushed himself up, sitting back on his heels. He rubbed his arm for a few seconds flexing it slightly. His brain showed activity in the part which recepted pain. Thao recorded that, before returning to Minho’s screen.

\----------------------

WICKED had been building up Casey’s variables for a long time. Day after day, Casey was tricked into thinking she had betrayed her friends by working for WICKED. Thao laughed at the irony of it, behind the stupid desk. 

When the message popped up, Thao wanted to disobey. She loved Casey. She was such a sweet girl, who only wanted to make the world happy. She sighed, reading the message.

**A1: 3254975**

She typed it in a sent it. She was used to the routine. Type in variable, a place in their brain would flare yellow, and they would be taken down a notch. When Thao sent the command, however, Thomas appeared in the middle of the room, tears flowing down his face. 

Twenty two days into their trials, and Thao had never seen a variable this big thrown at anyone.  _ Except that Victoria girl. _ She watched Casey run towards Thomas, but he pushed her away.  _ Thomas  _ pushed  _ Casey  _ away. 

She looked hurt and upset, falling to her knees. She began apologising profusely, begging him to forgive her. Thomas began to yell loudly, shouting profanities at her, screaming about how it was all her fault. 

It was awful to watch, but she had to sit through it. It went on for about twenty minutes before Thomas’s hologram disintegrated, leaving Casey a balling mess on the floor. Thao recorded her brain activity quickly, but efficiently. She then rose to her feet, decided this was the perfect time for a run.

\------------------

Watching Audrey’s trial was just as painful for Thao, as it was for Audrey. When she punched in the code, she knew this variable was also directed towards her.

**A4: 679354**

The screen in front of Audrey flashed, and Thao could hear her own voice coming through the speakers, ringing through the small room. The screen showed the pair of them, but it was definitely a ‘future’ shot, as they both looked slightly older. 

Thao’s pretend voice was taunting, speaking ruthlessly about the situation at hand.

“This will happen after another event we already discussed.” The voice said, and the screen showed Audrey bawling her eyes out. She looked so upset, and heartbroken, that the image alone scared Thao. Future Thao was sniffling, tears on the verge of falling. 

_ What happened that made them cry? _ _   
_

“We’ve predicted that this will probably make us closer, but we don't want that.” Thao’s pretend voice explained, as the shot made the two girls hug. “We want a variable that makes you have to deal with it alone.”    


Suddenly, on screen Audrey was throwing a fit and screaming.  _ Something awful must have happened.  _ Thao’s on screen self tried to call her down, but nothing seemed to be working.    


“We’re going to make you deal with it alone. Whether Thao wants you to, or not.”    


What happened next made Thao gasp.    


On screen Thao smacked Audrey, hard on the cheek. Audrey didn’t seem the least bit phased by what the screen was showing her. _I’ll have to check in on her more often, she looks so broken down._   


“We’re going to make me leave you when you need me most, and we’re going to make sure that I’m angry at you when I do.” 

This time, Thao went straight to the shower, throat tightening as she threw herself out of the room.

 

\--------------

 

Newt’s brain scan was beginning to give Thao nightmares. She had learned how to make the machine show her a three minute long sequence of the subjects’ brains over the past few years. Once she had tried it on Newt, she couldn’t stop watching it. 

The way that the blues went from a light, almost white color, to dark, dark blue, and even a bit of black. It had become lighter again, slowly, but at the very end, the last five seconds of the sequence, it was dark again. No gradual fading, no light parts, it just went dark. 

**A5: 1748907- Immediately**

And so, she acted immediately. Newt, who had been lying on the stone floor, aimlessly staring at the gray ceiling, slowly rose to his feet. His whole brain flashed yellow.  _ Shuck. _ The boy stood and dusted off his pants. His eyes were dead, held literally no emotion. 

He walked forwards, straight up to a wall, running his hands along the vines.  _ Damn it. I’m sorry Newt. _

He surveyed the wall, looking high up at the vines. He pulled on a couple of the lower ones to see if they were strong enough to support his weight. They were. Thao was forced to watch all over again as her best friend climbed a shuck wall. Once he figured he was high enough, higher than the first time, at least, he stopped. 

He hung in the vines, shuck leg dangling below him, too tired to support his weight. Thao shut her eyes.

**WATCH**

The message scared her. She knew they were monitoring her in the same way she was monitoring her friends, but the reminder wasn’t appreciated. Regardless, she watched. Watched as he kicked off the wall again. Watched as he fell through the air  _ again.  _  That same, small smile plastered on his face. Looking like a stupid little angel.

_ Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Because your leg is sure shucked up, shank. _

He was only a few inches off the ground when the screen went dark. Thao stared at it in shock. It lit up again, only five seconds later. 

Newt was sitting in the middle of the path, eyes bloodshot, tears streaming down his face, seemingly unhurt.  “Why won’t you let me die!” He screamed, knocking his fists against the ground, drawing a bit of blood. 

Thao stood up, not bothering to record anything, and ran straight for the sealed door. She pushed as hard as she could, ramming her body into the metal. She screamed and cried for them to let her out. She wasn’t aware of how much time had passed, all she knew was she was lying, curled up on the floor, shaking with tears. 

When the message came, she felt sick to her stomach.

**Get to work. Your job is not to feel remorse. You work for us now. WICKED is good, Thao.**

\--------------

**A7: 0897685**

That was it. It seemed a lot simpler than it was. Simply pull up a box, type some numbers in, and press enter. But yet here she was, fingers shaking over the touch-keys. Minho had been in there for twenty-six days. Twenty-six days full of pain, regret, and remorse. 

Thao watched herself be pulled into Minho’s lap, their mouths pressed together. It was really strange to see herself kissing someone. She couldn’t decide if she was intruding on something private, or not. She sighed, typing in the code.

A Griever fell from above, landing on the pair. Thao’s heart clenched as she watched Minho throw fake-Thao across the stone floor, kicking at the Griever as he struggled to get to his feet. “C’mon. C’mon, you can do this shank.” She whispered, watching the screen intently. 

The pair managed to scramble away, and Thao let out a breath as they ran side-by-side down a long hall. When they split up, she knew that was it. The griever followed fake-Thao, and Minho struggled for too long to try and find a way back to her. 

Once he did, it was too late. Fake-Thao was had already been attacked, and was bleeding out on the floor. Minho ran to fake-Thao, begging her to stay alive. He pressed his forehead to hers, whispering quietly so real-Thao couldn’t make out what he was saying. 

A few moments later, Minho stood up, walking towards the Griever, and began yelling at it to kill him. Thao panicked, if those spiders could kill Victoria, this Griever could, and most definitely would, kill Minho. She rose to her feet, not knowing what to do, but knowing she had to try  _ something _ .

Before she could make any drastic sort of move, the scene changed in Minho’s room. It changed to match that of Thao and Audrey’s rooms. Small, dark, grey. Janson stood at the door, congratulating Minho on completing the trail. 

When Minho’s fist connected with Janson’s face, she couldn’t help but smirk. She turned around, facing the corner she knew every camera was in, and flipped WICKED off. “Yeah, shuck you guys.” She pushed her chair back, walking out of the room, deciding now would be a good time for a shower. The second she had shut the bathroom door, she collapsed to the floor, letting the tears rush over her. 

\--------------

Thao had just slipped out of the shower when she heard the voices coming from the dining hall.  _ Odd _ , she thought to herself, looking at her wristwatch.  _ Dinner was two hours ago, WICKED wouldn’t be eating now. _

It was seven o’clock, but Thao had not yet eaten, having been too busy running to pay attention to the time. She dried herself quickly, before getting dressed. She stared at herself in the mirror, fixing her hair while trying to listen to the conversations going on outside. “Where have ya been? Ya Sticks.” It was a girl’s voice.  _ Sticks? Isn’t that what Group B says? _ Thao tore herself away from the mirror, running to the door. She opened it slowly, wondering if WICKED was playing more mind games. Instead, the tables were lined with the Gladers and Group B. She scanned the tables, desperately searching for her friends. 

Audrey sat in between Newt and Casey. Thomas was sitting in front of Casey, his back turned to Thao. There was an empty spot next to him, and then there was Minho. He was shaking his leg uncontrollably. His head shot up every few seconds, looking about frantically. He was definitely panicked, and Thao momentarily wondered how long she’d been in the shower. 

She locked eyes with Audrey. Her eyes lit up, worry fading away. Audrey turned to Minho, hurriedly saying something. He whipped his head around, making quick eye contact with Thao. He was on his feet in seconds, stalking towards her. She couldn’t move.

And then he was there. Arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck in turn, burying her head in his neck. He spun them around in slow circles for a few long seconds, before setting her on her feet again.

“Promise me something.” He choked out. Thao looked up to find his eyes were still red and bloodshot from the variable that morning. Tears were dripping down his cheeks, and Thao couldn’t tell if they were fresh, or had been running for hours. 

“What?” She whispered, her hands on his wet cheeks. He flinched at the cool metal in her right hand, but didn’t say anything about it. “Minho, you’re okay. I’m okay. It’s fine.”

“Promise-” He took a deep, shuddering breath, closing his eyes and pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “I-”

“Minho, it’s alright, you can say it.” Thao ran one of her hands through his hair, scratching his scalp ever so slightly.

“Marry me.”


	5. Minho

“What? No big, shiny ring?” Thao asked, smiling up at him. His heart was pounding, and his hands were shaking so hard. The question slipped past his lips without any warning, but it didn’t matter, it’s what he wanted. She was here. She was alive. It was okay.

“Sorry-” He tried to calm himself down, a weak, half-assed smirk on his lips. “I’m a little broke at the moment.” Her eyes lit up slightly, but not enough to satisfy him. “I’m serious. As soon as we get out of here. Out of WICKED’s control, let’s get married.”

“Yeah,” Thao’s hand moved against his face, nicking at the skin. He caught a glimpse of it as he walked over, but decided not to mention it. “Yeah. As soon as we get somewhere safe, we can do all that shuckin’ romance klunk.” She agreed, pulling his down into a kiss. 

It was so much different than the one in the maze that morning. It wasn’t rushed, there was no immediate fear of dying. It was equally soft and sweet, as it was desperate and full of emotion. Her soft lips moved carefully against his, as if she might break them.

“Gross, ew, knock it off ya slintheads.” Minho pulled back, giving Thao a sheepish look.

“Well, if it isn’t our favorite Brit.” Thao laughed, holding her normal hand out to him. He gladly interlocked their fingers, letting her pull him towards the table. He was still shaking, head sifting through emotions a million miles an hour. His breathing wasn’t steady either, but that could have been from the kiss, rather than whatever this weird panic was.    


Rat Man entered the room a few seconds later, clapping his hands as he walked down towards the stage. “Everybody take a seat. We’ve got a few things to cover before we remove the Swipe.”    


The room stilled and the Rat Man stepped up onto the stage, turning to look over the group. “That’s right ladies and gents. You’re about to get all your memories back. Every last one of them.”    


Everyone else in the room seemed to break out into whispered gasps, and some looked rather happy at the news. Minho wasn’t sure how he felt, and judging by his friends faces neither were they. Audrey looked like she could be sick, physically sick at the news.    


“As you were informed in your one-on-ones, the Trials as you’ve known them are over. Once your memories have been restored, I think you’ll believe me and we can move on. You’ve all been briefed on the Flare and the reasons for the Trials. We are extremely close to completing the blueprints of the killzone. The things we need-to further refine what we have--will be better served by your full cooperation and unaltered minds. So, congratulations.”    


“I ought come up there and break your shuck nose!” Minho said, relatively calm for how panicked he felt. “I’m sick of you acting like everything is peachy---like more than half of our friends didn’t die.”    


“I’d love to see that rat nose smashed.” Newt snapped angrily, nodding in agreement with Minho.  _ His trial musta been as bad as mine….  _ _   
_

“First of all, each of you has been warned of the consequences should you try to harm me. And rest assured, you're all still being watched. Second, I’m sorry for those you’ve lost-- but in the end it’ll have been worth it. What concerns me, though, is that it seems that nothing I say is going to wake you people up to the stakes here. We’re talking about the survival of the human race.” 

Minho sucked in a breath and squeezed Thao’s hand gently, trying to let himself calm down a little. She noticed his distress and quietly turned to him. “You okay, shank?” She whispered, trying to listen to Rat Man’s speech.

“Not in the least.” 

“Why should we trust you people with- this swipe thing? How do we know it’s not another trick?” Casey asked. Janson look mildly offended for once, and Minho wanted to laugh.

“Yeah, after all you’ve don’t to our friends? I don’t think so!” Frypan agreed.

“I’d rather stay stupid about my past.” Clint added. It was so weird to hear all his friends talking again, when they had all just been killed in front of him. 

“WICKED is good.” Rat Man stressed, looking back at Casey. “I thought of all the people here, Casey, you would understand that.”

“Yeah? Well shuck you.” Casey shot back, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows. 

“Maybe-” Clara spoke up, clearing her throat. “Maybe there’s a lot of things we don’t understand. How are we going to know anything without our memories back?”

“I agree!” Aris shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. Their whole table turned to stare at Aris, aghast that he would betray them like this. 

“Shuck-face.” Minho muttered, turning back to face Rat Man. 

“Shut up you lot.” Rat Man called out, immediately silencing the group. “Look, I realise you all have trust issues-”

“I shucking wonder why?” Minho shouted, earning an elbow to the ribs from Thomas and a pointed look from Newt. 

“But I promise you, once this is all done, no one is going to harm you.”

“And if we don’t want to, Janson?” Thao asked, jaw stuck out. 

“Thao.” Rat Man turned to face her, disappointment on his face. “Is this because you don’t want your memories back, or because you don’t trust us?” 

“Don’t  _ trust _ you?” Frypan scoffed, smacking his hand on the table. “I can’t imagine why we wouldn’t trust  _ you _ .” 

“Don’t you realise that, if we wanted to do something to harm you, we would have done it by now?” Rat Man stressed, trying to keep his voice calm.

“Oh! You mean like setting us on fire with lightning? Or maybe drugging people? Oh! Maybe next time you should force them into a room and have them watch all their friends die!” Minho snarled, already on his feet. 

“If you don’t want to remove the swipe, then don’t do it. You can stand by and watch the others.” Minho sat down again, glaring at the man.  _ It’s a trick. _ His brain was screaming, but he felt slightly calmer with that answer.    


Before anyone else answered, Rat Man had stepped of the stage and was now walking towards the door at the back of the room. When he reached it, he turned back to look over everyone. 

“You really want to spend the rest of your lives having no memory of your parents? Your family and friends? You really want to lose the chance to hold on to at least the few good memories you may have had before all this began? Fine with me. But you might never have this opportunity again.” He left shortly after that, closing the door behind him.    


“I can’t.” Audrey mumbled just loud enough for the groups of six to hear. “I mean, there’s no way I want to.” She rephased seconds later, looking down at the table and avoiding eye contact. Strange.    


“Who would? Look what remembering did to Alby and Ben.” Minho agreed. “Plus, I don’t trust those shanks.” 

“We need to make a bloody move soon. And when we do, I’m going to knock a few heads to make myself feel better.” Newt nodded, looking confused as to whether or not he should comfort Audrey.  _ Is WICKED trying to break up them up or something? What’s up with them?  _   


“Not too soon.” Thomas agreed, pulling Minho’s attention away from his two friends and their love life. “We can’t screw this up--we need to look for our best chance.”    


Everyone else seemed to decide that they wanted their memories back, and as they made their way to the auditorium Minho hoped a few would change their minds. They’d seen the outside world, why would they want to remember anything?    


Once they had all entered, the Rat Man gestured to the beds lined up back against a wall, each with a menacing, foreign looking contraption of shiny metal and plastic tubes in the shape of a mask hanging over it.    


“This is how we’re going to remove the Swipe from your brains. Don’t worry, I know these devices look frightening, but the procedure won’t hurt nearly as much as you might think.”    


“Nearly as much?” Frypan repeated. “I don’t like the sound of that. So it does hurt, is what you’re saying.”    


“Fry, it’s a surgery to remove something from your brain.” Audrey mumbled. “Of course it’s going to hurt a little.”    


“Right you are Audrey. We’ll be removing a small device from the part of your brain devoted to long term memory. But it’s not as bad as it might sound.” Rat Man nodded.    


“Wait.” Casey said, looking at the machines. “Is this going to take away whatever's in there that lets you control us, too?”    


“Everything except the tiny device that allows us to map your killzone patterns. Thomas, Casey and Aris won’t be able to speak telepathically anymore. But, you’ll all have your long-term memory restored, and we won't be able to manipulate your minds. It’s a package deal, I’m afraid. Take it or lose it.” 

“Liar.” Audrey whispered, so quiet that Newt and Minho were probably the only ones to hear. Maybe Thao.    


“That’s a no brainer.” Frypan said. “Get it? No-brainer?” Minho wanted to groan, and a few other Gladers did.    


“Okay, I think we’re just about ready.” Rat Man announced. “One last thing, though. Something I need to tell you before you regain your memories. It’ll be better to hear from me than to…. remember the testing.”    


“What are you talking about?” Harriet asked.    


Rat Man clasped his hands behind his back, his expression suddenly grave. “Some of you are immune to the Flare. But some of you aren’t. I’m going to go through the list---please do your best to take it calmly.” 

_ Shuck. Shuck. Shuck. Shuck. _ Minho’s heart clenched. There were six of them, and the chances that one of them would be on that list, were very high. “You see, we needed a control group for the experiment to work properly. We tried to keep the Flare from you as long as possible, but-”

“Just bloody get on with it, ya ain’t breaking our hearts or anything here.” Newt said, sending daggers to Rat Man. Thomas glanced at Casey, a strange look on his face. Casey was fidgeting with her fingers, head bowed. They both knew something. 

“Okay, most of you are immune, only six are not.”  _ Watch it be all of us. _ “Only a few of the remaining immunes are considered candidates now, but we’ll touch on that at another point.”  _ Watch that be us too, shuck.  _ “The following people are not immune. Karl. Winney. Alfred. Jackson.”  _ Oh, so we’re fine.  _ “Jordan. And Newt.”

And just like that, Minho felt his whole world collapse around him. He slowly looked around at the others. Thomas was doubled over, the air seemingly gone from his lungs. Casey kept her head bowed, a soft, but surprised expression on her face. Thao was surveying Rat Man, and Minho tightened his grip on her arm to prevent her from running up and knocking his bits off. Minho made a point not to look at Audrey.

“Tommy, slim yourself.” Newt said, eyebrow raised at the boy. “I ain’t worried ‘bout the buggin’ Flare, dude. Never thought I’d make it this far, livin’ hasn’t been too great anyway.”

It bothered Minho. Newt shouldn’t have to act like the strong one, when he was the one being hurt. They should be protecting him, not the other way around.  _ Get it together, shank, Newtie boy needs ya. _

“I guess if you’re cool with going crazy and eatin’ small children, I won’t stop ya.” Thomas shrugged, forcing himself to stand. The tension in the air was thick. All it would take was a sniffle, and they’d all be a mess. 

“Good that, Tommy.” Newt nodded, rubbing his hands together, and turning back to Rat Man.

“That needed to be put out in the open.” Rat Man started. “I wanted to remind you all that we’re doing this to find a cure. You are all in the early stages of the Flare, and I assure you, the cure will be ready before you get past the Gone.”

“And what if you don’t figure things out?” Minho asked. His hands were shaking. Images of Newt’s broken body flooded through his mind. Both images. The image from his trial, and the image from when the shank jumped off the wall. 

Rat Man ignored him, however, walking over to the closest bed, and pulling on a strange metal device. “This is a Retractor.”

Minho tuned him out once he started to explain what it was and how it removed the klunk from their heads. It didn’t matter, He wasn’t having the thing removed. 

“Give me just a few moments to make sure the medical teams are ready. You can take this time to make your decisions.” Rat Man finally finished, making his way across the room and disappearing through the steel door. 

The room erupted into multiple conversations, but the group of six stayed relatively quiet. The news about Newt was too much, and no one knew how to start.    
“I’m not getting my memories back.” Audrey huffed after another minute of silence. She didn’t say anything more, or do anything else. She just stood there, zoned out and not hundred percent there. It wasn’t how he’d expected her to act, but it wasn’t surprising either.    


“Me either.” He agreed, “ They can manipulate us, play with our shuck minds. How would we even know if they’re giving us back our own memories or shoving new ones inside us?”    


“Yeah. We’d go crazy as Ben or Alby with those memories back.” Thao agreed.    


“Besides,” Casey said, looking around the group. “It doesn’t matter who we were before this all happened.”    


“Exactly. Casey’s right. It only matters who we are now.” Thomas said, smiling at Casey.    


“That settles it then. None of us will.” Newt nodded.    


“What?” Frypan said, approaching the group. “Come on, aren’t you curious?”    


“I don't think we should be falling for another trick. And I’m the one who supposedly has the bloody Flare, so I have more stake than anybody.” 

Thao nodded, and then glanced over to a table filled with kids from Group B. Alexander and Annie were sat beside Winney, trying to comfort her. “I’m going to go talk to him. Would you like to come?” She asked quietly, playing with his hands.

“No, it’s alright, you can go.” She nodded quickly, striding up to Alexander, placing her hand on his shoulder. He gave Annie a soft look, before walking off with Thao to a quieter part of the auditorium. 

“So we’re all in agreement, then?” Newt asked, looking at Frypan.

“I-I don’t know.” He admitted, looking at the ground. 

“Right well, if you aren’t a hundred percent on board- any of you- you should go talk to some of the others.” Minho explained crossing his arms to try and look menacing. Secretly, he hoped none of them walked away. Frypan did, though, and it honestly broke Minho’s shattered heart a tiny bit more. 

Thao came back about a minute later, watching Frypan’s sulking with the new group of people. “What’s up with him?”

“I told him, if you’re not a hundred percent against getting your memories back, he should go talk to some other people. That goes for ya too, Shank.” He tried to look serious, but could feel a slight pull at the corner of his mouth when she rolled her eyes at him. 

“Yeah, Minho, I want to remember my life so bad, bet it was fantastic.” She scoffed, shaking her head. 

“Right.” Thomas said quietly, causing them all to lean in closer. “We’ll stick around, play nice. But at our first chance, we’re fightin’ our way outta here.” The other’s nodded in agreement. Minho shot the kid a half-smile.

“Ya’d make a solid leader Tomboy.” Rat Man entered the room again, arms crossed. A couple of other people followed him behind him and waited in a line at each bed, fidgeting with the tools there.    


“We’ve already assigned you each a bed.” Rat Man explained, and then proceeded to call off a list of names, which all six of the group were on. They were lead out of the room and down a long windowless hallways before entering another room with twice as many beds.    


One of the WICKED people started to call a shorter list, Newt’s name coming up.    


“I’m not doing it.” He announced, pulling Audrey to his side and glaring at the team supposed to be helping them. “You said we could choose and that’s my bloody decision.”    
“That’s fine.” Rat Man replied, “You’ll change your mind soon enough. Stay there until we’ve finished distributing everyone else.”    


“You can take me off the list as well.” Audrey snapped, sending a death glare towards the Rat Man.    


“Me too.” Casey nodded.    


“Yeah, I don’t want it there.” Thomas agreed.    


“Mark me off too.” Thao said from beside Minho, gently squeezing his hand.    


“No thanks. But I appreciate the invitations. You guys have a good time in there.” He gave a mock wave and gestured for everyone else to go find their beds. Rat Man looked annoyed, and it was kinda funny. “You okay there, Rat Man? 

“My name is Assistant Director Janson.” He replied, his voice low and strained, as if it were hard to stay calm. “Learn to show respect for your elders.”    


“Quit treating people like animals and maybe we’ll consider it.” Thao snorted. 

“Alright, everyone can come inside, and we will wait for those willing to participate.” Rat Man explained calmly, leading the group into the room. “Anyone else wish to back out?”

No one answered.  _ Stupid shuckfaces. _ Minho glanced around the rooms, staring at the people at each bedside. At the very end was girl with brown hair, her back turned to them. When she turned back, his breath caught.  _ Brenda. _

She looked wildly between Thomas and Rat Man. She ran forward quickly, wrapping her arms around Thomas. Casey gave her a pointed look. “Brenda, what are you doing?” Rat Man asked wildly. “Get back to your post.” Brenda leaned forward to whisper something in Thomas’s ear. “Brenda!” 

“Sorry!” She muttered,quickly scooting back to her post. Casey took an obvious step towards Thomas, wrapping her arm around his waist. He threw his own arm around her shoulders, kissing her hair.

Rat Man walked around the room, assigning people to beds. Once everyone had been seated, he walked back over to their group. “You little rebels are being watched, so don’t even think about trying anything. Armed guards are on their way now.”

“Who’s the one with trust issues now?” Minho scoffed, standing so his hip was popped slightly.

“It’s a bunch of klunk.” Newt whispered, leaning his head towards Minho’s.

“Yeah, I say we take our chances, see what happens.” Minho agreed, staring at Thomas. He didn’t react, just continued to stare at Brenda. Minho opened his mouth, tired of waiting, but he was cut off by the sound of rushed footsteps.

“Oh great, we waited too bloody long, Thomas.” Audrey snapped, glancing around the room.

“They would have caught us out there anyways.” Casey pointed out. Thao rolled her eyes at that, literally bouncing on the spot, anxious to get out of there.

“Be patient.” Thomas whispered, just as the door flew open.    


Rat Man was back, and guards were behind him. They held a bulky gun like weapon, but it was a clear blue tube in the middle filled with shiny metallic grenades that crackled and fizzed with electricity.    


“These are called Launchers. These guards will not hesitate to fire them if any of you cause trouble. The weapons won’t kill you, but trust me when I say that they’ll give you the most uncomfortable five minutes of your life.”    


“What’s going on?” Thomas asked. “You just told us we could make this choice ourselves. Why the sudden army?”    


“Because I don’t trust you.” Rat Man said, looking over the group as six. “We hoped you would do things voluntarily once your memories were back. It would just make things easier. But I never said we don’t still need you.”    


“What a surprise.” Minho laughed bitterly. “You lied. Again.”    


“I haven’t lied about a thing. You made your decision, now live with the consequences.” Rat Man insisted. “Guards, escort these six to their rooms, where they can dwell on their mistakes until tomorrow morning’s test. Use whatever force necessary.” He left right after that, disappearing through the door.    


“Don't make us use these.” One of the women guards said, pointing her weapon at Audrey’s head. “You have zero room for error. One false move and we pull the trigger.”    
“We haven’t done anything.” Audrey pointed out, sounding a little annoyed.    


“Just get moving!” One of the men shouted, tugging Thomas forward and pulling him down the hall.    


The walk to the rooms took forever, and they turned down corridor after corridor until finally stopping outside a big door. A guard had to swipe a card down the door to make it open, swinging it open to reveal a small bedroom with a few bunk beds and a kitchenette with table and chairs in the far corner.    


“In you go. We’ll have some food brought to you. Be glad we don’t starve you a few days for how you’ve been acting. Tests tomorrow, so you better get some sleep tonight.” A female guard said, shoving Newt and Audrey into the room. Once everyone was in, the guard slammed the door shut. It clicked, telling the group it had locked. 

Thomas immediately crossed the room to the door, pushing and pulling on the handle. He pounded his fists on the door, screaming,

“Slim it.” Newt groaned, collapsing onto the bottom bunk of the nearest bed. “No one’s coming to tuck you in.”

“Tom.” Casey walked over to Thomas, rubbing her hand on his back.  

“Looks like we missed our chance.” Minho sighed, climbing to the top bunk, opposite Newt. 

“Guess we’ll be old men by the time your perfect moment comes rolling around, Tomboy.” Thao shook her head, sitting on the bunk below Minho,

“I hardly doubt you will be an old  _ man _ , Thao.” Thomas shook his head, leaning back against the door. “Sorry. I just didn’t want to do it with those guns in our faces.”

“So what did Brenda say?” Casey asked, dropping her hand to her side, going to sit on the bottom bunk beside Newt. 

“She told me to only trust here and someone named Chancellor Paige.” Thomas shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What’s bugging up with her anyway? She work for WICKED?” Newt asked, leaning back on the bed. 

“Yeah, she’s no better than the rest of ‘em.” Thao agreed, mimicking Newt’s movements. 

“Casey and I used to work for them too, remember?” Thomas shot back.    
No one said anything after that, and they all sat quietly for a bit. Except Audrey, who was rummaging through the small kitchenette. She came back over with some cheese sticks and grapes. And six bottles of juice.    


“Who know’s when they’ll bring the food.” She muttered, dividing up portions as she handed everyone some before sitting on the edge of Newt’s bunk. She hadn’t been nearly as affectionate with him lately as Minho had grown use to.    


“Should we be rationing this then?” Thomas asked.    


“They are bringing the food later, don’t worry.” Audrey mumbled, staring down at her feet. “It’ll be pork chops and potatoes. I think.”  _ How does she know that?  _ _   
_

“What?” Casey asked, much sweeter then Minho would have. “How would you know?” Everyone turned to look at her. Everyone but Thao, who looked away. Newt sat up on his elbows, and gently pulled Audrey back towards him a little more.    


“You okay love?” He asked, and she flinched. _ What in the shuck is going on?  _ Audrey nodded quickly, and let out a sigh.    


“It was my stupid trial.” She informed everyone. She didn’t go into anymore detail about it, just said that.    


Before anyone could question her anymore, the food came. Pork chops and potatoes, just as she’d said. No one said a word as the lady placed the food on the table and left the room, and they all slowly moved to the table to eat.    


“What’s going on with you?” Minho whispered to Thao as they made their way to the table. “You looked guilty, or sad when Auds told us what was for dinner before.” She surveyed him for a moment, before clearing her throat.

“Anyone else want to discuss their trails?” She asked, looking around.

“Yeah, okay.” Thomas nodded, taking a sip of his juice. “I mean I kinda just worked out or whatever, not much you can do in a padded cell.”

“You were in a padded cell?” Newt asked, eyes wide. 

“Well, yeah. Weren’t you shanks?” 

“No.” They all answered, shaking their heads.

“Oh. Well it was like isolated, I couldn’t see or hear anything. They’d bring me food every so often.” Thomas shrugged. “What about you guys?”

“I- there were these holograms, I guess?” Casey started, playing with her food. “It was- of you guys, and WICKED kept making me betray you. And you’d all get mad at me and it was kind of traumatizing actually.” Thomas reach out, grabbing her hand tightly.

“I had to watch each of you shanks die. One a day for twenty-six days.” Minho muttered, trying not to think too hard about it. 

“That’s like mine too.” Thao piped up. “I had to watch you guys get hurt a lot.” She explained, turning to Audrey.

“Oh. Uhm, mine had to do with WICKED’s mind control.” She furrowed her eyebrows, not making eye contact. “They showed me all the things they’ve altered in the past, and days and days and days worth of future stuff that their planning.” 

“Newt?” Minho asked, tapping his friend on the knee. 

“I-” He cleared his throat. “I was in the Maze. Doing stuff that  _ I  _ would do in the Maze.” Minho realised Tomboy and Casey had no idea about Newt’s leg. 

“Well, that’s peachy.” Minho scoffed, taking another bite. “Let’s not waste our next chance.”

“Yeah first thing tomorrow.” Newt agreed, getting up and walking back to the bunk he’d earlier claimed. “Let’s get some rest, shanks. We’re going to need it.


	6. Audrey

Shifting in the bed caused Audrey to wake up later that night. Not that she had been in a deep sleep of anything, but Newt slipping out from under her was enough to jolt her back awake.    


“Sorry Auds.” He whispered, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.  _ What’s he doing?  _   


She sat up on her elbows and watched as he made his way over to Minho’s bunk, who she could hear sniffling.    


“Min.” Newt said, being oddly calm again. “Hey, shank.” He gently reached up and pushed on Minho’s arm. “We’re fine. You gotta slim it nice and calm.”    


Audrey sucked in a breath, squeezing her eyes shut.  _ Don’t talk about it, please don’t talk about it.  _ _   
_

“We’re fine huh?” Minho replied. “You are going to turn into a Crank, Newt. Why are you acting like that’s okay?”    


_ Shuck _ . They were talking about it. She still wasn’t sure how she was taking the news. She’d been in shock earlier, and instantly pushed the thought away the second she could. It made her think too much. _ There might be something in your shucking head to save him, think!  _ Her brain would scream, and she would just zone out.    


“Shh!” Newt whispered, obviously not wanting to turn it into a discussion. But it was too late, because Thao was up too. And it was something that had to be discussed. Thao slipped off her bed, standing beside Newt. Audrey sat up, as did Thomas and Casey, but no one said anything. 

Thao pulled Newt into her, wrapping her arms around his neck protectively. He dropped his head onto her shoulder, letting out a long sigh. “You aren’t going down like that.” Thao spoke, running her fingers through Newt’s hair. “Ya hear me, Shank? You aren’t gonna die some Crank. When you die it’s gonna be shuckin’ badass and cool.” 

They all chuckled at that, but Audrey noticed Newt burying his face deeper into Thao’s neck. She stood up, walking over to the pair. Her brain was going haywire, trying to sift through the vast amount of information WICKED had provided. She reached the pair, rubbing her hands up and down Newt’s back. She could feel him shaking. 

“I know you’re scared, Shank.” Minho muttered, slipping off his own bed and placing a hand on Newt’s arm. “We all are.” It was too dark in the room to see properly, but Audrey could hear the tears in Minho’s voice. 

Thomas and Casey walked over. “Shuck, Newt. This isn’t fair.” Thomas groaned throwing his arms around Thao and Newt, his body racking with sobs. 

“I want to punch WICKED in their shuckin’ faces for doing this to ya.” Minho very nearly growled.   


They stayed like that for a few more minutes, just leaning on each other for support. But eventually, Newt stood up straighter and gently pulled back from Thao’s hug. Audrey instantly ducked under his arm and stood directly beside him.    


For a second she panicked that maybe he didn’t want to be close to anyone right now, because he stood stiffly. But a few seconds later, he wrapped an arm around her and sighed.    


“We need some rest.” He whispered, before quickly pulling Thao into a side hug and whispering a small ‘thank you’. “C’mon, everyone back to bed.”    


Slowly, the group made their way back to their bunks. Audrey waited a few seconds after Newt had slipping back on the bed before climbing on after him, laying her head on his shoulder.    


“You okay?” He asked, and she nearly started crying all over again. He was concerned about her in this situation.    


“I’ll admit, I’ve been better.” She sighed, attempting a weak joke to make him feel better.    


“Me too.”   


“We’ll figure something out.” Audrey tried, but she knew he wouldn’t believe it.    


“I’m more concerned about breaking out of here and getting you lot somewhere safe.” Newt huffed, pulling her closer. “This isn’t about my survival anymore, it’s about all of yours.” Audrey’s heart felt like it had been punched, stabbed with a knife, stomped on, and ripped into a million little pieces. 

“Don’t say that.” She snapped, tears pooling in her eyes.

“Well, c’mon Auds. I’m a walking corpse, it’s only a matter of time.” She felt him shrug beside her. His words sounded empty. “We just gotta get you outta here.” Audrey decided that she was now quite angry at Newt, so she flipped over, facing away from him, and sliding out of his grip.

“Auds, I lo-”

“Don’t you dare.” 

 

\---------------------------

 

The door flung open, and all six of them were on their feet before they had a chance to realise what was going on. The guards entered the room, weapons pointed at the kids. Newt’s hand reached out,pulling Audrey slightly behind him. Rat Man walked in after them, a snotty look on his face.

“Rise and shine, lovebirds. We’ve decided to give you your memories back, whether you like it or not.”

“Like Hell.” Newt sneered, hands clenched at his sides. Audrey had never seen such anger on anyone before. It’s scared her to death.

“You said we didn’t have to.” Thomas accused, stepping forward. 

“Well, things have changed. We need you all out of the dark for this to work.” Rat Man explained. “Especially you, Newton, you will benefit most from the cure.”

“I don’t care about myself anymore.” Newt responded in a low growl, and it made Audrey suck in a deep breath.  _ Why does he have to do that?  _   


“Look, I understand how you must feel. You’ve seen awful things, but the worst part is over. We can’t change the past, can’t take back what happened to you and your friends. But wouldn’t it be a waste to not complete the blueprint at this point?” Rat Man said, with a huge sigh.    


“Can’t take it back?” Newt shouted and Audrey reached out, placing a gently hand on his shoulder.  _ Calm down, please _ . “That’s all you have to say?”    


“Watch yourself.” One of the guards with a launcher warned, pointing it right at Newt’s chest. Audrey hoped he wouldn’t push any further. Luckily he didn’t, and she slowly moved to stand beside him, trying to help comfort him as much as possible.    


She’d never seen him this angry before and so unwilling to put on a calm front.   


“We’re running out of time. Now let’s go or we’ll have a repeat of yesterday. My guards are willing, I assure you.” Rat Man continued.    


Minho stepped forwards and turned back to the other five. “He’s right.”  _ Excuse you? _ “If we can save Newt--and who knows how many others--we’d be shuck idiots to stay in this room a second longer.” He nodded towards the door, before adding. “Come on, let's go.”    


Rat Man looked suspiciously at Minho, but lead the group out of the room anyways.    


As they walked, Rat Man narrated the journey as if he were a tour guide. Audrey wasn’t really paying too much attention to him though, still trying to sort out an explanation for what  WICKED had done to Newt. It was cruel, exposing him to the virus just to see what happened.    


“I really wish you’d shut your bloody mouth.” Newt snapped at the Rat Man, who finally stopped talking. They finally reached their destination, and Rat Man turned to them, grinning. “I expect full cooperation today.” Audrey wanted to laugh at the idea.

“Where are our friends?” Casey asked, looking over Rat Man’s shoulder into the room.

“The other subjects are recovering.” Audrey realised her grip on Newt’s hand should have been a lot tighter, only a second too late. He jumped forward, grabbing onto the front of Rat Man’s shirt with his fists clenched.

“Call them subjects again, shuckface!” Newt roared. Audrey was too stunned by his out burst to do anything about it. She staggered backward slightly, the word  _ Crank _ echoing in her brain. She didn’t want to believe he had the flare, she really didn’t, but this couldn’t be anything else. 

Two guards stepped forward, dragging Newt off Rat Man and throwing him onto the floor. They aimed the launchers at Newt’s face, causing Audrey to sprint forward.

“Wait!” Rat Man said, holding up his hand, at the same time Thomas reached out and grabbed Audrey. “Don’t disable him. Let’s just go.” Rat Man motioned over his shoulder, and the two guards gave reluctant nods, allowing Newt to get to his feet.

“We ain’t subjects, Janson. And get over yourself, I wasn’t going to hurt you.” He cocked his head to the side, shooting a glance at Minho. “Much.” 

“Guys.” Thomas looked at all of them, biting his lip somewhat nervously. “I think it’s time we did what we’re  _ supposed  _ to do. We all agreed to it last night.” 

Audrey felt her heart pump faster. Minho and Thao got identical looks of determination and excitement on their face. Newt clenched his fists, a smirk growing on his lips.

“Yeah, Tom. I think you’re right.” Casey agreed, taking his hand in hers. “Let’s do this.” 

Suddenly everyone was tackling guards to the ground, or punching them, shoving them against the wall. Anything and everything they could to try to escape.    


But then Thomas was pinned under a guard's foot, Launcher pressed against his head. “Give the word, sir!” She called. “A.D. Janson, give me the word and I’ll fry his brain.”    


“What are you kids thinking? How were the six of you supposed to overpower eight armed guards? You are suppose to be geniuses not idiotic…. delusional rebels. Maybe the Flare has taken your minds after all.”    


“Shut up!” Newt screamed, and Audrey wanted to cry all over again.  _ Damn it, act stronger. Be stronger for him _ . “Just shut your--”    


He was cut off when the guards started shoving the six forwards. “We’ll do Thomas first. Get a nurse down here. Brenda’s inside--she’s been insisting that she wants to help. Maybe he’ll be easier to deal with if she’s the technician working with him. Take the others to the waiting room--I’d like to do them one at a time. I need to go check on another matter, so I’ll meet you there.” Rat Man informed the guards.   


Thomas was pulled away by two guards, struggling in their arms. Audrey was sure Minho and Newt would have caused a scene if it weren’t for the launchers pointed at everyone else’s heads. Nonetheless, Newt was shooting daggers out of his eyes.

“This way,” Rat man drawled, turning to walk further down the long hall. He paused, looking over his shoulder. “Your cooperation is in Thomas’s best interest, so I suggest you remain calm. Especially you, Newton.”

The obliged, although unwillingly, and followed Rat Man down the hall to another room. He opened to door, and they were met with what seemed to be an office mixed with a waiting room. There were book shelves lining the walls, and a large desk in the center of the room. Creating a smaller square inside the walls, with the help of the desk, were many chairs and tables, which would be commonly found in a waiting room. 

“Take a seat,” Rat Man said as he pushed past their group, going to sit behind the desk. They all took a seat, silently trying to create a plan. Two of the guards stood by the door, while the rest took up the seats closest to the door. 

They sat in silence long enough for Audrey to realise they weren’t getting out of this one. She looked around the room at her friends. Casey looked worried, and Audrey couldn’t blame her; if it were Newt in there- she shuddered at the thought. Thao and Minho, though not sitting beside each other, had the same expression on their faces, both deep in thought, minds racing to find a way out. Newt, on the other hand, just had a typical grumpy expression on, staring at the floor.

The door burst open, and everyone turned towards it, expecting the other guards to be back to take another. Instead, they were faced with Brenda and Thomas, who looked relatively unharmed. Rat Man and the guards jumped to their feet, moving towards the door, carefully. 

Brenda and Thomas both had launchers in their hands, but the probability of them having many shots left was unlikely. 

“G-get back.” Thomas yelled, as if he wasn’t expecting to barge in on so many people. Audrey glanced around at the others, watching a quick whispered conversation taking place between Newt and Thao. Newt nodded and whatever Thao said. Thao slowly rose to her feet behind Rat Man, doing everything in her ability to make sure the guards weren’t alerted to her movement. “I said get back!” They didn’t move, and Audrey heard the sound of a launcher getting ready to fire. 

Lightning quick, Thao moved and grabbed the gun from the back of Rat Man’s pants. She kicked forward, causing Rat Man to fall to his knees. She clicked the safety, and held the barrel to Rat Man’s temple. “He said get back!” Thao screamed, one arm around Rat Man’s neck. He struggled slightly, clawing at her arm. “Get back and drop your weapons. Now.”    


All the guards complied, kicking the guns away.    


Minho reached for one of his own, and Newt dove down to grab one beside Thomas. But then, Newt was pressing the gun to Thomas’s head.    


“No one move!” He shouted, and even Audrey froze. _ What is he doing?  _   


“Ne--”    


“Slim it! Everyone just bloody slim it.” Newt roared, shoving the guy against Thomas’s head again. “No one is going to move, or follow us. Or I pull the trigger on Tommy’s head.”    


The other four fired at anyone who moved, Janson being the first one down. Newt didn’t lower his gun from Thomas’s head though, and Audrey momentarily panicked even more.  _ What is he doing? Thomas isn’t…. _ _   
_

“We need to get moving.” Brenda pointed out. “I dunno how long this will hold them down for.”    


“Do we have a plan?” Audrey asked, still trying to process things.    


“Jorge is a pilot. If we can somehow make it to the hanger, to his Berg…” Brenda offered, before shouts and footsteps could be heard running towards the room.    


“Time to start moving.” Newt started towards the door, holding Thomas in front of him with the gun still pressed to his temple. “They fire at us, I’ll pull the trigger on Tommy.” 

Before anyone could reply, the door opened and both Minho and Thao started to shoot. Newt stood in the center of the doorway, threatening to kill Thomas. It scared her. 

The gunfire stopped, and Newt walked to the left, allowing the rest of them to exit the room. “That’s what I thought. You make one false move, I’ll put a bullet through your precious subject’s head.” Newt cackled, actually cackled, throwing his head back with the laugh. Audrey’s heart clenched as she followed Newt down the hall. 

Thao and Minho took up the back of the group, walking backwards and aiming the guns at the guards. Audrey tried to catch up to Newt, but paused when she heard him humming to himself. 

“Newt?” She asked quietly, only a few steps behind him. Newt whipped himself and Thomas around, roughly pulling on the scruff on Thomas’s neck. He had a grin on his lips, and an odd fire in his eyes. 

“Audrey, Oddy. Auds, Odds. Ha, get it?” He laughed gleefully, turning back around, pulling Thomas so hard he tripped. Audrey didn’t know what to do.  _ It’s not real. It’s not real. _ She kept telling herself, but she was beginning to doubt herself. 

“It’s just up there, but we need a key card to get through those doors.” Brenda called from right behind Audrey. 

“I got Janson’s, here.” Thao called, fumbling with something in her hands and handing it to Brenda. Audrey turned her attention back to Newt. He was skipping ever-so-slightly, his head nodding back and forth, humming slightly louder. Thomas struggled against his grip.

“I have no problem putting this bullet in your head before we get there,  _ Tommy _ .” He sign-songed as they reached the door. “Go ahead Bender, send ‘er through.” He smirked again, seemingly thinking he was clever. 

Brenda pushed past them, holding the key card above the slot. “Minney, Thao-o, you two shanks should be up here with those launchers.” Newt said, wiggling the gun at the side of Thomas’s head. The pair stepped forward, ready to shoot whatever was on the other side of the door. “You two are driving me crazy!” Newt chirped, and Audrey thought she heard a snort from Thao. “Go on Bender.”

Brenda moved the key card down, barely touching the slot. The room went pitch black, and an alarm started blaring loudly. Audrey could hear Newt’s gleeful laughter.   


The sound of power charging eventually drowned him out, and filled the gaps between the blaring alarm whines. A pop of a grenade exploding against the ground. The blots of electricity lit up the room.    


“I’m going to find a door, be ready!” Brenda said, and Audrey held in a breath. This is not going to end well...     


“Start shooting!” She shouted a few seconds later, when the doors slide open. But soon it stopped, because no one was there. There was’t a sign of anyone coming anywhere, and no answering fire.    


Newt pulled Thomas to the door and held him out with the gun pressed to his head. Once he was sure no one was there, he led them all out. Audrey stayed further back this time, trying to make herself accept what was happening.    


A while later, the alarm stopped.    


“Finally got sick of their ears bleeding from the noise.” Minho grunted. “But just because they turned it off doesn’t mean anything.”    


“Alright, Bender. We need your help.” Newt started. “We need to get to the Berg and find Jorge. And find the rest of our friends. Where can we stock up on some more weapons?”    


“On the way to the hanger there’s a weapon depot. But it’s probably guarded.”    


“We’ll cut through them all. Every last one of those buggers.” Newt growled, before finally losing his grip on Thomas and lowering his gun. Thao let out a sudden laugh, and ran forward, slinging her arm around Newt’s shoulder. Audrey thought she might have been a crank too.

“Fantastic.” She ruffled his hair. “A plus acting there, Newtie-boy.” He smiled down at her, looking at the others. 

“Hey, I had no idea what I was doing,” Newt protested, smirking. “I’m  _ crazy _ , remember?” He laughed, wiggling the gun around his own temple this time. 

“That was all an act?” Audrey asked, dumbfounded. He smiled and nodded proudly.

“Most of it. It’s buggin’ easy to let it take over when the bloody flare’s already in your mind.” Audrey scowled at him, and his grin faltered slightly. 

“Shuck, dude.” Minho laughed, patting Newt on the back. “Saved out shuck lives, you did.”

“Let’s just go.” Brenda said, her voice suddenly thick as she led the way down the next hall, jogging. Audrey was confused before she spotted Thomas and Casey. It was disgustingly cute, the fact that they kept pecking each other on the nose and giggling. 

“C’mon lovebirds.” Audrey snapped, still annoyed with Newt.  _ Could have let me in on your little joke, hun _ .  _ Instead of scaring the shit outta me.  _ But she also tried to focus on the fact that his acting did save their lives.    


They jogged for a solid fifteen minutes. Not enough to even bother Audrey after running the Scorch. When they finally reached the weapons depot, the door was already swung wide open.    
A beetle blade skittered by, for about the fourth time and Minho shot at it, but missed and nearly hit Newt who yelped and jumped back.    


“That does it.” Minho said. “No more doubt. They’re shucking setting us up.”    


“Yeah, everybody suddenly disappears. Doors are unlocked, weapons sitting here for us. Obviously they’re watching us through those damned beetle blades.” Thomas agreed.    


“It’s definitely fishy.” Brenda added, sounding bitter.    


“How do we know you aren’t in on it?” Minho demanded.    


“All I can say is that I swear I have no idea what’s happening.” She shrugged, and it was true. She couldn’t do much else. But they kind of had to trust her now.    


Audrey glanced around to see Newt already wandering inside. “Look at this!” he called. Suddenly something started to click in her mind, and she realized the room looked familiar.  _ What the… _

“Look at the dust patterns. It’s pretty obvious that a bunch of stuff was taken recently. Maybe even within the last hour or so.”    


“Why is that so important?” Minho asked, following behind Thomas to look at what Newt had found. 

“Can’t you figure something out yourself for once, you bloody shank!” Newt said, turning on him.    


Minho winced, looking slightly shocked. Audrey had to admit it made her wince too, and it wasn’t even directed at her. Thao on the other hand, frowned at Minho, eyeing him carefully. 

“Newt,” Casey started, looking between the two boys. “I know things suck right now, but-”

“Slim it.” Thomas said. 

“I’ll tell ya what’s bloody wrong!” Newt growled, shooting daggers at Thomas. “They were ready for us. If we had just gone last night when we had the chance, we wouldn’t be in this mess. But you’re too busy making out with your girlfriend to notice the world around you. Audrey is buggin’ terrified of me every time I do something remotely crazy. Thao keeps babying me, and Minho can’t take a bloody step without askin’ which foot he should use.” He slammed his fist on the table, breathing heavily. 

“Look shuck-face. you’re the one prancing around like that plan back there was all your idea. I saw Thao whisper it to you. You’re the one who’s figured out that some slinthead guards took weapons from the  _ weapons _ room. I thought I’d act like you discovered something important. Don’t worry, next time i’ll pat you on the back for stating the freakin’ obvious.” Minho growled, fists clenched. 

Newt’s expression quickly changed from its hardened state, falling soft. His eyes started to water and he bowed his head, murmuring a quick “I’m sorry,” before stepping out of the room.

“What was  _ that _ ?” Minho asked, dumbfounded. 

“You guys were missing his point.” Casey said quietly, stepping closer to Thomas’s side to avoid Minho’s wild eyes. 

“Which was?” Minho demanded, taking a step closer to the pair. 

“There’s got to be two-three dozen launchers missing, recently too. No one’s got the muscle to haul them around.” Audrey muttered, staring at the door which Newt had disappeared through.

“So?” Thomas asked, glancing wildly between the girls.

“Where are the extra guns?” Thao asked, avoiding Minho’s eyes. 

“Well it’s standard for WICKED guards to carry Launchers at all times-- so it doesn't make sense that this many are missing. They’re goal really isn’t to kill people, whatever you all may think. Not even when Cranks break in.”    


“Cranks have broken in here before?” Thomas asked.    


Brenda nodded. “The more infected there are, the more past the Gone, the more desperate they get. I really doubt the guards--” Audrey didn’t want to hear anymore about Cranks, not after Newt’s semi-acting stunt.    


Thankfully Minho interrupted her. “Maybe that’s what happened. With all those alarms going off, maybe some Cranks broke in and took whatever weapons were here, stunned people, then started eating’ their shuck bodies. Maybe we’ve only seen a few guards because the rest of them are dead.”    


She was suddenly a lot less thankful, as the image of Newt as a Crank crossed her mind as he fed on a body. _No stop that!_   


“I hate to say it but you might be right. Seriously. That would explain it. Someone came in here and took a bunch of weapons.”    


“If that’s it, our problems are a whole lot worse than we thought.” Casey mumbled.    


“Glad to see the guy not immune to the Flare isn’t the only one with a brain that still works.” Newt’s voice made Audrey snap her head to the door.    


“Next time just explain yourself instead of getting all snippy. I didn’t think you’d lose it so fast, but glad you’re back. We might need a Crank to sniff out these other Cranks if they really broke in.” Minho said, his voice empty of compassion.    


Audrey’s mind recognized the sentence, and she quickly tried to work out what WICKED had shown her happen next.    


“You never have known when to shut your hole, have ya, Minho? Always gotta have the bloody last word.”    


“Shut your shuck face.” Minho replied, as Newt made his way towards him. The scene clicked and she threw herself in between them.     


“Don't you dare. Either of you.” She threw both her arms out to keep distance between them. 

“Why not? The slinthead deserves it.” Newt snarled, trying to move past Audrey.

“Are you kidding me?” Thomas yelled, appalled. “We’re runnin’ for our shuck lives here, and you two are gonna brawl?” 

“He started it!” Minho protested, pointing a finger at Newt.

“What are you, eight?” Brenda asked, shaking her head at the boys. Everyone was silent for a moment, breathing heavily, not wanting to be the one to put the next word in. 

“It’s my fault. Everything’s tickin’ me off. You guys figure out what to do, I need a buggin’ break.” Newt stormed out of the room again, and Audrey was so angry she didn’t even want to follow him. 

She turned back just in time to see Thao’s fist connect with Minho’s jaw. Thomas made to grab her arm, but she took a step away from Minho. “He’s sick, Min!” She whispered, glaring up at the taller boy. He gulped and hung his head in shame. “He can’t control what’s going on in his mind, you know it’s not his fault.” 

Minho ran a hand through his hair, looking like a puppy with it’s tail between it’s legs. “Who knows, maybe we all got the flare. Ain’t we all a bit on edge?” He shrugged, looking at each of them individually, his eyes resting on Thao again. 

“Right, half of you guys get weapons and fill ‘em up, the other half fill some boxes with ammo.” Thomas ordered, rubbing at his eyes. “I’m going to go find Newt.” 

Audrey helped Brenda pack up the boxes of ammo. Thomas came back into the room, shaking his head, only two minutes later. “He’s got something he needs to  _ do _ .” He shrugged, taking a box from Audrey’s arms. 

She wanted to go and check on him now, really she did. But she couldn’t bring herself to face him after acting so scared earlier.    


“He’s only acting out like this because he’s been over stimulated.” Brenda mumbled. “The Flare works faster when brain activity is increased. All the choices you guys make, and all the hell he’s been through. The hell you’ve all been through…” She trailed off.    


“Well we can’t do anything about it until we get somewhere safer.” Thomas sighed.    


“Do about what?”    


Newt appeared again, and Audrey had to fight the urge she had to run up, jump in his arms and apologize until her throat hurt. She wanted to, but they didn’t have the time to waste.    
“Nothing, never mind. Where’d you go?” Thomas asked. 

“I need to talk to you,Tommy. Just you. It’ll only take a second.” Newt said rather calmly, and for some reason that worried Audrey more. 

“What’s this crap?” Minho asked. _Shut up, you’ve done quite enough thank you._   


“Just cut me some slack. I need to give something to Tommy here. Tommy and no one else.” Newt insisted, quickly glancing at Audrey.  _ Shuck. Why doesn’t he want to tell me?  _   


“Whatever, go for it.” Minho adjusted the straps of the Launchers on his shoulder. “But we need to hurry.”    


The two left the room and Audrey took a few steps towards the door before stopping herself. He didn’t want to tell her whatever it was. _ Did I do something wrong? Is it about him being a Crank? Why is he keeping us in the dark?  _

“Audrey.” Thao mumbled, making her look away from the door. “He’ll be okay. And whatever it is, he’ll tell you when he’s ready. It’s Newt.”    


“Yeah.” She agreed, before the words _ but for how much longer  _ popped into her head. “I just- increased brain activity. There’s nothing we can do to stop that, not when we’re heading a rebellion.”

The boys walked back into the room just then. Newt came in first, and didn’t stop walking until his fingers were interlaced with Audrey’s. She wanted to say  _ something _ , but she didn’t know what.    


“Let’s go find our friends.” Thomas said, grabbing a couple launchers. They all left the room silently, hands full except for Minho and Thao, who were ready to shoot the first thing that moved. 

An hour later, there was no sign of any of their friends. Audrey had started to believe they were walking in circles, and would never escape this place. The whole place was eerily empty. No guards, no Rat Man, no anyone. “We need to leave. They aren’t here.” Thomas admitted, turning to Brenda. “Lead us to the hanger?” She nodded, and led the way. 


	7. Newt

It had been a little over an hour from when Newt had snuck a sealed envelope to Thomas before walking in and taking Audrey’s hand. But in that time, neither of them had said much. In fact, barely anyone had said a thing.    


Minho froze up front, and pointed to his ear. It was a little difficult to see, since the hallway was only lit from red emergency lights. It was then that Newt could hear a low moaning sound, something from a few yards ahead of them through a window in the hallway that looked into a large room. It was completely dark inside, and the window had been shattered from the inside since shards of glass littered the floor below it.    


Minho held a finger to his lips before slowly setting down his extra Launchers. Thomas, Casey and Thao followed behind creeping towards the noise with weapons at the ready. Newt quietly tugged Audrey closer to him, and a little bit behind him as he followed with Brenda keeping an eye out behind them. 

They all piled up against the wall, with Minho on the edge of the window frame on the left, and Thao on the right.    


“Ready,” Minho whispered “Now!”    


Both Thao and Minho pivoted and aimd their Launchers into the dark room, while Thomas, Casey and Newt all moved to their sides seconds later. Audrey and Brenda kept a watch on their backs.    


Newt scanned the room, trying to see any sort of movement. It wasn’t easy in the dimmed lighting, but he could make out dark mounds on the floor. And they seemed to be wiggling about.    


Soon his eyes adjusted enough that he could make out the shapes of bodies and black clothing, and some rope. And the moaning noise, it was each of them.    


“They’re guards.” Brenda said, peering through the broken glass with the others.    


They muffled moans and gasps escaped the room. Their mouths were gagged while their eyes were open wide in panic. Guards were tied up and laid out on the floor from head to toe, side by side. Some lay still, but the majority of the room struggles around in their restraints.    


“So this is where they all are.” Minho breathed.    


“At least they’re not all hangin’ from the bloody ceiling with their tongues sticking out like last time.” Newt said, leaning in to get a better look. 

“We should question them.” Brenda suggested, kneeling down in front of a woman.

“No.” Thomas shook his head.

“It could be a trap.” Casey added, looking around at all the guards.

“Besides,” Newt started, following Casey’s gaze. “They wouldn’t help us.” 

“Good that.” Minho agreed, adjusting his launcher. “These shuck guards aren’t our worry right now, let’s go.” Brenda nodded, pointing to the right and taking off at a jogging pace again. 

The pinch in Newt’s leg was starting to sting again, but at this point he didn’t seem to care. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Brenda stopped at another set of double doors. Newt and Minho took their positions at the edges of the door. Minho sent him a smirk that said “Aww, we’re so synchronized, that’s cute as klunk, ain’t it.” Newt rolled his eyes.

“Open it.” Thomas demanded, ready to run through the doors. Brenda swung it open, and he barged through, launcher pressed to his shoulder. They were definitely in the hanger. Two giant bergs sat in the room, looming over them. Out of the corner of his eye, Newt saw movement.

Minho and Newt rushed towards the crate, weapons raised. “Hey!” Minho shouted back to the others, who quickly covered them from behind. The pair each approached the box from opposite sides, launchers trained on the crate. 

There was a man sitting behind it, head in his hands. He was struggling to sit up. “Slim it bud. Easy does it, any sudden movements and we shoot these things.” Newt said carefully, watching the man lean forward and drop his hands. It was Jorge.

“Thank Shucking God.” Minho sighed as Brenda ran forward to hug the man. 

“What happened? Where is everyone?” Casey asked, dropping to her knees beside Brenda. 

“They all left on that other berg,  _ hermana _ . Tried to stop ‘em.”

“Who left?” Audrey asked, glancing around anxiously. Newt reached out, ghosting his hand over hers. 

“Those other subjects.” Jorge shrugged. “Everyone of ‘em. Except you six.”

“Any guards?” Thomas asked.

“Nah, just the subjects. Two girls were leading the think. A blondie, and some girl with dreads.” He climbed to his feet, leaning on the crate. 

“You better start explaining what bloody happened. From the beginning.” Newt told him, helping the man to his feet.    


“And be quick about it.” Minho added.    


“Look, hermano,I already told you I don’t know much. What I said happened is what happened. My head feels like---”    


“Yeah, you’ve got a headache.” Minho snapped. “Just tell us what you know and I’ll find you some shuck aspirin.” 

Jorge let out a laugh. “Brave words, boy. If I remember right, you’re the one who had to apologize and beg for your life back out in the Scorch.”    


The comment didn’t sit well with Minho. Or Newt really, but he wasn’t quite as pissed as Minho about it.    


“Well it’s easy to be tough when you have a bunch of lunatics with knives protecting you. Things are a little different now.”    


“Maybe we should spend less time fighting, and more time figuring out what our next move is.” Audrey mumbled quietly, at the same time that Brenda yelled at Jorge and Minho to stop.    


“Just get on with it.” Newt voiced loud enough for everyone to hear, squeezing Audrey’s hand a little. She was right, as always. “Talk so we buggin’ know what we need to do.”    


“Look, I spend most of my time in this hanger okay? I started hearing all kinds of shouts and warnings over the com, then the silent alarm lights started blinking. I went out to investigate and just about had my head blown off.”  Jorge said.    


“At least then it wouldn’t hurt anymore.” Minho muttered.    


“Then the lights went out and I ran back in here to find my gun. Next thing I know, Blondie and all your hooligan friends come running in here like the world's about to end, hauling old Tony along to fly the Berg. I dropped my lousy pistol when seven or eight Launchers were aimed at my chest, then I begged them to wait, explain things to me. But blondie whacked me in the forehead with the butt of her gun. I passed out, woke up to see your ugly faces staring down at me and a Berg gone. That’s all I know.” Jorge finished, ignoring Minho’s comment. 

“They left us behind.” Casey whispered.    


“I can’t believe it!” Thomas agreed “They left us behind. At least we went back and looked for them. They left us here for WICKED to do whatever they wanted with us.” 

Everyone seemed to agree with this, and started to get more than a little angry.    


“Maybe they did search for us. This place is huge, and confusing. Maybe they couldn’t find us, or had to leave before they had a chance to find us?” Audrey offered, but she didn’t sound completely convinced.    


Minho scoffed. “All the guards are freaking tied up in that room back there! They had plenty of time to come look for us. No way. They left us.”    


“On purpose.” Newt said in a low voice.    


“Brenda, do you know anything about this? You told me not to trust them.” Thomas asked.    


“Not a thing. But maybe the other subjects had the same idea we did. They were just better at it.” She shrugged.    


“Insulting us is something I wouldn’t do right now. And use the word subjects again and I’ll smack you.” Minho growled, sounding terrifyingly animalistic.    


“You just try it,” Jorge warned “Smack her and it’ll be the last thing you do in this life.”    


“Let’s get back to focusing on what comes next instead of… whatever is happening now.” Audrey suggested, trying to redirect the conversation to something important.    


“We need to get the hell out of here.” Newt agreed, pointing at the Berg. Jorge nodded, finally getting to his feet. The rest of them adjusted their belongings, and started walking towards a berg. 

An alarm started to blare, and Newt’s hands subconsciously jumped to cover his ears. He grabbed his launcher again, spinning around to find dozens of guards filing into the room. “Ah, shuck.” Minho groaned, aiming his launcher. Newt dove towards him, knocking him behind a crate. 

“Get down!” Newt yelled, thumping his head against the wood. 

“Who let the dogs out?” Thao asked, crouching behind the crate next to them with Audrey and Thomas. The sound of electricity and bullets filled the air, smacking against the wooden crates.

“We gotta go,  _ hermanos _ .” Jorge yelled, from beside Brenda and Casey. 

“They’ll kill us if we just run out there!” Audrey protested, nearly throwing herself to the floor as more bullets rained on the crates.

“We gotta fight back! Boys?” Thao shouted, spinning in her crouching position so that she could aim the launcher. Newt and Minho mimicked her, waiting for her go. “Jorge, scout us a way to the berg!” Newt gripped the launcher tighter, giving Thao a curt nod. “Now!”

The immediately began to fire, hitting guards left and right. Newt smiled to himself as a particularly nice shot from Audrey collided with a guard’s chest. “Nice hit, Auds!” He yelled, not chancing a glance towards her.

“Which berg Jorge?” Thomas asked, knocking a guard over by hitting just above the knee. 

“That one! It’s my baby!” Jorge yelled, pointing to the nearest berg. 

“Right,” Minho yelled, ducking back behind the crate. “ First we reload. Newt, Thao and I will cover. You guys run to the berg. Jorge can fire it up, and you four can cover us from the berg. Got it?” The all murmured their agreements, reloading their weapons. 

“Newt.” Newt glanced up, a grenade in his hand, to find Audrey smiling at him. “We’ll be okay.” He smiled back, hands shaking slightly less as he held the pin of the grenade. 

“Go go go!” Minho shouted. Newt quickly pulled the pin, throwing it over the crate. The air exploded around them, grenades and gunfire creating a perfect wall for the other’s to run through. 

Newt took a quick look at the group running, just in time to see a launcher hit Brenda in the back. “Bloody shucking hell.” He muttered, shooting aimlessly into the smoke. 

And as if Brenda falling to the floor wasn’t bad enough, Thomas decided to drop to the ground and crawl towards her.    
He spared a quick glance to check that Minho was still with him before the two started towards Thomas, aiming at anything that moved with continuous fire. Jorge had disappeared into the Berg and came back out with a huge Launcher, shooting something different that exploded into spouts of raging fire. Audrey and Casey were closer to the Berg, ducked behind another crate and helping keep the boys cover as they reached Thomas.

“No!” Thomas shouted the second both boys dropped to his side. “Keep going to the Berg. Take cover behind the hatch door. Wait until we start moving, then cover us. Fire like crazy til we get there!”    


“Just come one already!’ Minho yelled back, hauling Brenda up by she shoulders, causing several jagged bolts of electricity raced up his arm. Newt grabbed ahold of one of  her legs, Thao grabbing the other  and Thomas got her other shoulder. They backed their way towards the Berg. Bullets kept flying everywhere, but thankfully Newt watched Audrey and Casey move back to the Berg as well. One bullet grazed Thomas’s leg and made the kid let out a furious scream. 

Eventually they reached the foot of the hatch door, and Jorge dropped his weapon to grab a hold of Brenda. Newt let go then and spun around, shooting at everyone dressed in black. He didn’t stop until he was out of ammunition.    


The guards must have predicted this, because the second he did a group sprinted for the ship and opened fire once again.    


“Let’s go!” Thomas screamed, and Newt turned and ran up the ramp with Thomas right behind him. That was right until Thomas neared the threshold and was hit, falling backwards and down to the bottom of the hatch and landing on the floor of the hanger, his whole body convulsing. 

“Shuck!” Minho yelled, throwing his launcher to the side. Newt did the same. Three man dressed in black appeared out of the smoke, looming over Thomas. “Get ‘em!” Minho shouted. 

The pair ran down the ramp, leaping off at the last second and tackling two of the guards. Newt pummeled his fists into the man’s face, trying to break as many bones as possible. He wasn’t sure where the fierce anger was coming from, but he figured it was something to do with the Flare. He felt the man’s nose crumble under his fist and the jolt of pleasure in his stomach told him that yes, it definitely was the Flare. 

Someone was beside him with a gun, shooting at the remaining man, and into the smoke. He could hear the girl’s yelling from behind him, and the Berg’s engine roared to life. The man underneath him kept struggling, getting a few solid hits in. Newt could feel blood pouring from his mouth, and he spat it out, jumping to his feet and sending his foot into the man’s side. 

“Go!” Casey shouted, pulling him away from the man, before firing again. “Get him up there!” All three of the girls were firing their weapons into the smoke, backing up towards the berg. Minho glanced at him, and the pair ran to Thomas, who had managed to crawl part way up the berg before falling into a heap. 

Minho and Newt grabbed him under the arms, bullets still flying past them. They dragged him up the ramp, the girls right behind them, closing in. The doors started to tilt up, causing Newt to stumble slightly. “Go, Shanks!” Thao yelled, as they all stumbled up the ramp. Newt and Minho dragged Thomas’s body through, dumping him unceremoniously onto the floor. 

The girls jumped in after them, firing through the door until it was fully closed. Newt heard yells, and bullets hitting the outside of the berg, but he couldn’t care less. He jumped to his feet, leg wobbling slightly, and ran to Audrey, pulling her into his arms, and off the ground. She threw the gun to the side, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

“Oh my god!” She laughed happily, wrapping her legs around his waist. He smiled up at her, one hand on her thigh, one hand tangling in her blonde hair. He gently pulled her face down, their lips meeting in a slow, passionate kiss. Newt felt Audrey’s hands sneak into his own hair, tangling themselves and pulling lightly on the locks. He gasped into her mouth, stepping forwards so her back hit the wall. 

“Right. Yeah that’s sweet and everything, but gross, ew, stop.” Thao groaned. Audrey’s cheeks flushed and she pulled back the instant Thao started the sentence, trying to untangle herself from him.    


“Sorry.” Audrey laughed, but he wasn’t sure who it was for. 

\-------------------- 

The Berg had landed in a big clearing a few hours later, and everyone went to bed for some much needed sleep. There were some low cots, or couches to sleep on and no one argued with Jorge when he shouted at them all to get some rest.    


Thomas had still been unconscious when Newt had tugged Audrey down on a couch with him, Thao and Minho taking the one beside them.    


When he woke up Audrey was awake but still curled up against him, aimlessly tracing patterns on his chest. He smiled and leaned over to press a kiss to the top of her head.    


“Mornin’ love.” He whispered, before looking to see if anyone else was awake. Thomas and Brenda were chatting quietly, Casey still sleeping beside Thomas with her hand on top of his.  _ That’s gotta be hell to deal with.  _ _   
_

“Hi.” Audrey answered quietly, obviously still kind of sleepy. “Min and Thay awake yet?” She asked just as he looked over to see. 

The answer was no. Minho was laying on his back, one arm thrown above his head, and one leg falling off the couch. His other arm was draped over Thao’s lower back, gripping her shirt lightly. Thao was laying on top of him on her stomach, face pressed against his neck. Their legs were tangled together, and Newt couldn’t help but laugh quietly at the fact those two were able to fall asleep in any position, at anytime.   


“Still sleeping.” He smiled at her, pressing their lips together softly. The kissed for a few more minutes, before the other’s started to stir. Thomas, who had started laughing loudly, had managed to wake Casey, who just shoved her hands against his face in protest. He stopped laughing immediately, curling up beside her again, letting her fall asleep.

Brenda got up, whispering something about finding Jorge, and waking him up. Audrey kissed him again, lips gently making their way across his jaw line. He was just about to pull her up to meet his lips again, when Minho sat up. “Bathroom.” He muttered, getting off the couch. Thao followed only seconds later.

“Ooh, what do you think they’re doing?” Audrey asked, lips attacking his jaw again.

“Something similar to this.” Newt muttered, meeting their lips again. His eyes were closed, his mind falling into a dark, calm state, when he was suddenly jolted out of his trance.

“Newt!” Thao was screaming. He pushed himself off the couch, running towards the bathrooms. He could here three sets of footsteps right behind him. He threw open the bathroom door, heart clenching at the sight in front of him.

Minho was on the ground, convulsing harshly. 

“Oh my god, he’s having a seizure!” Audrey gasped, trying to push past Newt to get into the room. 

“The three of you need to stay here, go back to bed.” Newt demanded, trying to close the door on them. Audrey stuck her foot out, jamming it.

“No, I’m a Med-jack, I can help, it’s my job!” She protested, trying to shove the door open.

“You  _ were _ a Med-jack, Audrey, but we aren’t in the Glade anymore. Besides, he really doesn’t need people seeing this.” She looked hurt, and tried to shove the door again.

“I think i’m much more qualified to help than you, Newt.” She argued, avoiding his eyes.

“Are you? Because I don’t remember you dealing with them before.” She looked confused, and stopped struggling with the door. “He’s epileptic, Audrey.” He told her, giving the door a final shove, finally managing to close it. 

He turned on his heel, running to Minho’s side. “Two minutes, by now.” Thao told him, stroking Minho’s hair as he shook on the floor.

“Shuck. He probably hasn’t had his meds in two weeks.” Newt shook his head, watching his best friend on the floor.

“They planned this- WICKED- they planned for his meds to wear out just as we escaped.”

“Don’t reckon anyone managed to grab any refills on our way out?” Newt asked, breathing out a sigh of relief as Minho stopped shaking. “Hey shank, you’re alright, come back to us dude.”

After a few minutes, Minho groaned, bringing his arm up to cover his face. “I pissed my shuck pants again.” He gurgled, dropping his arm away. 

“Yeah, shank, I can see that.” Thao shook her head, looking at Newt. “Help me get him in the tub? I’ll take over from there.” Newt nodded and the pair lifted Minho into the bathtub. Thao pulled Minho’s shirt over his head, and Newt turned to leave the washroom.

“Thanks, dude.” Minho mumbled from behind him.

“Anytime, shuck-face.” Newt slipped out of the washroom, coming face-to-face with Audrey. She didn’t look quite as upset as he thought she’d be after kicking her out and shouting at her, instead she looked worried, and confused.    


“Why am I just finding out about this now? How am I just... “ She started before shaking her head with a sigh. “Is he okay?”    


“Thao’s got it under control in there.” Newt informed her, as she visable held herself back from approaching.    


“How come… I mean,” She tried to start a sentence off, but couldn’t find the right words. “I don’t understand.” She finally decided on, crossing her arms.    


“He use to get them all the time, but WICKED eventually found something that helped. Kept it at bay as long as he got a shot once every two weeks.” Newt explained briefly, knowing that he couldn’t be too vague or she would barge in there to get the answers from Minho herself. 

“But it’s not something WICKED is controlling?” Audrey asked, running a hand through her hair.    


“I don’t think so, why?”    


“I’ve been trying to figure out everything they showed me in the trails.” Audrey mumbled, and he could tell it wasn’t really something she enjoyed talking about, but knew she would if she thought it could help in any way. “And I just, they showed me more than just things I was involved in. They showed me times before I got in the glade. So if it's not real, I might know its  not.”    


Newt sighed and pulled her in for a hug, making her head rest on his shoulder. “You don’t have to think about it. Any of it. He’s going to be okay.” 

“I have to sort through all of this shucking klunk in my head anyways.” She huffed, and he can’t help but smile a little bit at how she always has to help, one way or another.    


“C’mon, let's find something to eat for when Thao and Min finish up in there.” Newt threw his arm around her shoulder, leading her away from the washrooms.

\----------------------------

Minho and Thao joined them about an hour later, back in the room they had slept in. They happily accepted the food Newt had saved for them, as they sat down on the couch. Everyone, including Jorge, was sitting in the circle of couches that Newt and Thomas had formed earlier. “We need to talk about something.” Thomas told them, just as the pair had settled on the couch.

“We aren’t having a Gathering, just because I spazzed out.” Minho protested defensively. 

“Actually,” Thomas turned towards Minho, shooting him an annoyed glare. “It’s not always about you, Minho.” Newt snorted, and was soon the recipient of everyone else’s glares. “We actually might have a plan.” No one said anything, so Thomas continued. “Brenda came up with the idea, actually.”

“In that case, it’s klunk, and I’m out.” Minho shot, crossing his arms. Thomas ignored him.

“The other berg, the one that the other’s hijacked, is headed straight to Denver.” He began.

“Why go where they are? They left us behind!” Minho argued, and Newt had to admit he had a point.

“I’m sure they looked for us. And besides, it’s not like we were making ourselves easy to find.” Casey pointed out, glaring at Minho. Thomas continued, determined to get his point out.

“There’s two big cities there, one for immunes, and one for-”

“Me. One for me.” Newt cut him off.

“No. That’s terrible. We can’t split up like that, seven and one, that ain’t shucking fair.” Minho yelled, nearly rising to his feet.

“Minho. There’s one more thing.” Brenda whispered, shooting daggers at him. “So sit down and let me talk.”    


Minho grunted, but sat back down with his arms crossed. “Fine. Talk.”    


“I know a guy named Hans who moved to Denver---he’s immune like the majority of us. He’s a doctor. He worked at WICKED until he had a disagreement with the higher-ups about the protocols surrounding the brain implants. He thought what they were doing was too risky.That they were crossing lines, being inhumane. WICKED wouldn’t let him leave, but he managed to escape.”    


“Shucks need to up their security klunk.”    


“Anyways, Hans is a genius. He knows every little detail about the implants you guys have in your heads. I know he went to Denver because he sent me a message over the Netblock right before I was dropped in the Scorch. If we can get to him, he’ll be able to take those things out of your heads. Or at least disable them. I’m not sure how it works, but if anyone can do it, he can. And he’d gladly do it. The man hates WICKED as much as we do.”    


Eventually it was decided that they would go to Denver, and land the Berg at a private airport with the story that they were Immunes looking for a government transport job. They’d all be tested and branded as immune to the Flare, which would allow them proper access to the city. All except Newt, who would be staying behind in the Berg until they figured something out. 

It took quite a bit to convince Audrey she would go in the city too, but eventually she stopped arguing about it. At least until the meeting was over and Jorge left, and Thomas walked off to do god knows what with Brenda and Casey following slightly behind him.    


“I still don’t think we should leave you alone in the Berg. What if something happens?” Audrey mumbles, knowing that he’ll be rather grumpy about it. She still made it clear to him that she wasn’t okay with it.    


“Well he can’t come in the city with us.” Thao sighed.    


“No, but we don’t all have to go in.”    


“Auds.” He huffs, shaking his head. “You’re going in with everyone else, I’m staying here. End of story.” 

“I hate this plan.”  Newt surveyed her for a moment, before getting to his feet.

“So is everyone in agreement?” Brenda asked, ignoring Newt’s movements. 

“Yes.” Thomas and Casey answered together.

“I can’t stand havin’ WICKED in my mind any longer.” Minho agreed.

“Let’s do it.” Thao said, smacking her hand down on the table.

“Absolutely not.” Audrey shook her head, looking wildly at her friends.

“I can get him in.” Brenda told her, glancing up at Newt.

“Swear it?” She asked Brenda.

“On my life.” Brenda answered with a nod. “Newt?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think.” He told them, his mind shaking with unexplainable anger. “I’m a bloody Crank.”

“We can get you into the city,” Brenda told him. “Hans can work on your head, and then we can get you out of there.” For some reason, this angered Newt even more. 

“I’m nearly past the Gone anyways, it doesn’t matter.” He stressed, repeatedly running his hands through his hair and over his face. He really wanted to punch something right now. “I don’t want to die knowing I infected a bunch of healthy people.” 

Everyone stared at him, but didn’t say a word. They knew it was true. “We all know the  _ cure _ isn’t real anyways. There’s nothing to live for on this piece-of-klunk planet anyway.” He really wanted to punch that hurt expression off everyone of their faces. He was so tired of all of them pretending like they actually cared about him. “I’ll stay on the berg while you guys go into the city.”

“Nothing left to live for?” Audrey asked, trying to be confident with her words, but her voice was breaking.  _ Weak _ . He thought to himself, before looking at her eyes. He was so irritable, but he could tell he’d hurt her. He looked away quickly, before storming out of the room. He slammed the door behind him and took off down the hall. 

_ You’re crazy.  _ He ran harder.  _ They all hate you. _ His leg hurt.  _ They can’t wait until you’re gone. You’re stupid, pathetic, weak. Can’t even fight off a bloody virus. You should just off yourself now, make everyone feel better. They’ll celebrate when you’re gone, y’know. You’re nothing to them. Nothing. _


	8. Thao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, I'm (Alex) a shit and forgot to keep uploading this, sorry sorry sorry.  
> Hope you guys enjoy it!  
> A & K

Before anyone had much time to process much of anything, Jorge told them they had about twenty minutes left before they headed out. Maybe thirty, depending on how long some of the fake documents he was making took to enter in.    


Thao had watched Audrey disappear down the same hallway as Newt seconds later, mumbling something about how she’ll try to get him to see everyone off. But she returned alone a few minutes later, only looking more upset.    


“You okay?”    


“I just need a second.” She responded weakly, taking a few deep breaths. “I don’t think going to see him is a good idea right now.”     


“What happened?” Thao asked, glancing over at Minho who was started towards where Audrey just came from. She wanted to go with him, but she couldn’t exactly leave Audrey there shaking like a leaf.    


“He’s mad. Really mad. And I know it’s not really him, it’s the bloody Flare, but…” Audrey started, before shaking her head. “Maybe Minho will have better luck, he isn’t crying.” She looked Thao over before standing up straighter. “And you should go too.”    


“You said that was a bad idea.”    


“You aren’t as visible upset about it as me.” Audrey pointed out, slowly trying to steady herself and stop shaking. “Seriously, the part of Newt that’s still Newt would want you there. Go.” 

Thao looked at Minho. His face showed that same expression he’d kept for most of their time in the Scorch, the same hardened, emotionless expression. She nodded her head towards the door, and the pair left the room silently. “I’m not gonna chew him out.” Minho muttered as they made their way down the hallway.

“I know.” Thao told him. She knew he was tired of playing devil’s advocate, but he wasn’t a bad person. She reached out, giving his arm a squeeze, before dropping her hand back to her side. 

They rounded a corner, and saw him against a wall about halfway down. His knees were drawn to his chest, arms wrapped around them so tightly, Thao thought he might be trying to squeeze himself to death. 

“Go away!” He screamed, hearing their footsteps approaching. “I hate you! I hate you all! Leave me alone!” Neither of them said anything, only continued to walk to him. They took a seat on either side of him, backs against the wall. 

He lashed out, swinging his arms out to the sides. They both caught his arms, folding them across his body as he struggled. Thao wanted to scream, cry, and run away. They each wrapped an arm around his back, the other hands keeping Newt’s arms in place. Thao grasped his hand tightly, thumbing over his knuckles. 

He stopped struggling after a few moments, and Thao leaned her head against his. She watched Minho do the same, and the trio sat together in silence, breathing heavily. “I’m sorry.” Newt’s voice was broken. 

“Don’t be.”

“It’s not your fault.” They assured him. Newt bit his lip, staring hard at the wall in front of him.

“You should get going. You need to get WICKED out.” He told them, squeezing Thao’s hand. “Seriously, get out of here. I can’t wait to see you shuck-faces WICKED free.” He smiled slightly. It was a genuine, Newt smile, not a Crank-y smile. It made Thao want to cry again. 

“Later, shuck-face.” Thao sighed, pulling away from the embrace and getting to her feet.

“Love ya, dude.” Minho ruffled Newt’s hair as he got up as well, smiling sadly at the boy. 

“You’re only going in for a few hours. It’s not like I won’t see you in time for dinner.” Newt laughed, his eyes still staring hard at the wall. “But yeah, yeah, love ya shanks too.” 

“We know.” Thao nodded, turning and walking away. They reached the end of the hall, and turned the corner. Minho’s arms grasped her hard, pulling her to his shaking chest. Her hair was damp with his tears within seconds.

“He’s going to die.” Minho whimpered, barely audible. “There’s nothing we can do.”

 

\-----------

 

They make it through the security and VCT scan with no problems, and they were all gathered just a few feet in front of the door’s they’d been pushed out of, everyone kinda of in awe by the city before them.    


“Wasn’t so bad, was it, muchachos?” Jorge asked, once everyone came through.    


“I kinda liked it.” Minho shrugged, a small smile on his face.    


“What is this place? Who are all these people?” Thomas asked, craning his neck up to take in the large buildings.    


Brenda and Jorge looked embarrassed to be around the five Gladers, before Brenda’s gaze melted into sadness.    


“I keep forgetting you’ve all lost your memories. It’s called a mall, basically it runs along the entire wall surrounding the city. It’s mainly shops and businesses.”    


Thao accidently ended up tuning them out as she watched a man in a dark blue jacket approach them. The dude was staring right at Thomas, and it was a little creepy.    


When he reached the group, he gave a curt nod and announced “We know some people escaped from WICKED. And judging by the Berg you came in on, I’m guessing you’re part of that group. I highly recommend you accept the advice I’m about to give you. You have nothing to be afraid of--we’re only asking for help and you’ll be protected when you arrive.”    


Then he shoved something at Thomas and walked off without another word.    


“What is it?” Casey asked. “What’s it say?”    


“It says, ‘You need to come meet me immediately--I’m with a group called the Right Arm. Corner of Kenwood and Brookshire, Apartment 2792” Thomas read it out loud, before visabliy paling.    


“What?”    


“You okay?”    


“Thomas?”   


“It’s from Gally.” Thao’s heart stopped.  _ He can’t be alive. It’s just WICKED messing with us. He’s dead. He’s- shuck.  _

“Can’t be.” Brenda shook her head, staring at the paper in Thomas’s hands. 

“He’s dead.” Thao muttered, glancing at Minho.

“No- he’s not dead.” Brenda shook her head. “Gally went psycho with guilt. They had to send him away, it was like he had the Flare.” Too many thoughts and emotions were running through Thao’s mind as she took in Brenda’s words. 

“What do you think the Right Arm is?” Audrey asked, obviously trying to get away from any more talk of Gally.

“It’s supposed to be some underground group against WICKED.” Jorge explained. 

“I think we should go see him.” Thomas suggested, looking at the note again.

“I think we should find Hans first, before anything else.” Brenda stressed, looking at the group.

“No,” Minho started, taking the note from Thomas. “We should go see what he has to say.”

“What if it’s a trap?” Brenda asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Casey agreed. “Maybe we should think about this.” 

“No.” Thomas shook his head. “We’re gonna go with gut feeling from now on. And my gut says to go see Gally.”  _ Do I want to see Gally? I thought he was dead, but now- now I don’t know. Do I tell him about- about Minho? I haven’t told the others. Shuck. Why couldn’t he be dead? _

“Alright. How do we get there?” Casey asked, pulling Thao back from her thoughts.    


“Ever heard of a cab?” Brenda said with an exaggerated sigh.    


They ate a quick meal first, before piling into a mini bus like cab. Minho, Audrey and Thao were a squished in the very back, with Thomas in front of them, with Casey and Brenda on each side. Jorge was up front with the driver, because he called ‘shotgun.’ 

The drive through the city kept everyone rather quiet throughout the car ride, because it was too much to take in. The hovering vehicles, the holographic advertising and the countless people who weren’t WICKED and were actually living somewhat normal lives…. it was amazing. 

The cab eventually turned into an deserted alley, much different from everything else they had seen so far.Although the deeper into the city they traveled the dirtier it got, there were still people around. They stopped in front of a cement building that rose at least twenty stories high, and the driver let them out before speeding off back they way they came.    


Jorge pointed to the closest staircase. “Number 2792 is right there, on the second floor.”    


The place was far from inviting, and the drab grey bricks were covered in graffiti, giving it an off kind of feeling. 

“Looks real homey.” Minho whistled, shaking his head. Thao nodded in agreement.    


Thomas started up the stairs first, Brenda and Casey trailing behind him. Thao let Jorge go next before pushing Audrey in front of her and made sure Minho was behind her as she followed.    


“This is crazy.” Jorge whispered. “This is completely crazy.”    


Minho snorted from behind her. “Thomas kicked the klunk out of him once, he can do it again if it comes down to it.”    


“Shut up.” Thao huffed, as Thomas reached to knock on the door. It swung open a few seconds later, but Thao couldn’t see much because of going second last up the staircase. She heard him though, and knew it couldn’t have been anyone else.    


“Glad you came.” She heard him say with a raspy voice. “Because the end of the world is upon us.” She stopped in her tracks, spinning around to face Minho. Thomas entered the room, and Brenda followed.

“I don’t think I  _ can _ .” Thao whispered, stumbling a little as Minho continued up the stairs, forcing her to go backwards. “What if-” The back of her heel hit the stair, tripping her. Minho grabbed her arm to steady her, still forcing her up the stairs. “What if he’s totally psycho? Or worse, what if he’s the same as he was before the changing or something?”

“Are you worried you might fall in love with him again or something?” Minho asked, coming to a complete stop. He had a slight smirk on his lips, like he thought the whole thing was hilarious.  _ I want to punch that dumb smirk off your face. With my face. Let’s make out. _

“I don’t know Min, are you worried I might?” It was her turn to smirk. She raised her eyebrows at him, before turning around and finishing the stairs. She had almost reached the door when she felt a strong hand on her arm. She turned back to face Minho.

“If you do,” He yanked her arm forwards so their chests collided. “I will kick his sorry butt all the way back to the Maze.” He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, before pushing her through the door. 

“Afternoon Gally.” Thao said with a smirk, walking up to the desk he was sitting behind. He looked tired, paranoid, and sick. “You look like you’ve seen better days.” He sighed, looking up at her. 

“Would say the same about you, but you always look gorgeous.” Gally laughed bitterly, getting to his feet and walking around the desk. “What’s with your hand?” 

“I’m trying to set a new trend.” She shrugged, smirking at him. “Got hit by lightning. Min, Tomboy and I.” 

He pulled her into a side hug, ruffling her hair. He lowered his face, and for a moment, Thao thought he was going to kiss her. “Min looks like he’s ready to finish what Thomas started.”

Thao glanced at Minho, who was in fact, grimacing in the corner. “He has nothing to worry about.” Thao assured Gally. He nodded, pulling away and going to sit down behind the desk again.

“Where’s our favorite Brit?”

Audrey stiffened from where she stood right beside the door. Thao wasn’t thrilled to answer the question either, leaving Minho, Thomas or one of the others to answer.    


“Watching our Berg.” Thomas informed, leaving out a few important details. “I’m sorry about what I did, Gally.” He added a few seconds later.    


“You’re sorry? I killed Chuck. He’s dead. Because of me.”    


“It wasn’t your fault.” Brenda said with a soothing tone. 

Minho still hadn’t said a word, and it didn’t look like he was going to anytime soon.    


“That’s a bunch of klunk. If I had any kind of guts I could’ve stopped them from controlling me. But I let them do it to me ‘cause I thought I’d be killing Thomas, not Chuck. Not in a million years would I have let myself murder that poor kid.”    


Minho snorted, and crossed his arms over his chest. “How generous of you.”    


“You wanted me dead?” Thomas asked, almost sounding surprised.    


“Don’t get all whiny on me. I hated you more than I’d ever hated anybody in my life. WICKED decided to give me my memories back without asking. But what happened in the past doesn't matter one lick anymore. We need to talk about the future. About the end of the world.”    


“Wait a second there, muchacho,” Jorge started “First off, you’re going to tell us everything little thing that’s happened since you got shipped out of WICKED till you ended up sitting right where you’re sitting.”    


“Jorge has a point. How’d you know we were coming? Or when?” Thao asked.    


“And who was the shuck-face who delivered the message to us?”    


Thao expected Gally to resist, or argue. But instead, he sighed. After a long pause, he started to explain himself.    


“The guy who gave you the note is named Richard. He’s a member of the group called the Right Arm. They have people in every city and town left on this crappy planet. Their whole mission is to bring down our old friends--to use WICKED’s money and influence for things that actually matter--but they don’t have the resources to disrupt an organization so huge and powerful. They want to act. but they’re still missing some information.”    


“How’d you get involved?”    


“They have a couple of spies in the main complex at WICKED, and they got to me, explained how if I faked going crazy, I’d be sent away. I would’ve done anything to get out of that place. Anyway, the Right Arm wanted an insider who knew about how the building functions. the security system, that kind of klunk. So they attacked my escort car and took me. Brought me here. As for how I knew you were coming, we got an anonymous message over the Netblock. I assumed you guys sent it.” 

“So what?” Minho asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets, something Thao hadn’t seen him do for a very long time, but it was unmistakably one of his old nervous habits. “You brought us here to talk about taking down WICKED?” 

“Yes,” Gally nodded, picking up Minho’s old habit as well, he cocked his head, looking at Thao concerned. “We got two big problems, though.” 

“Which are?” Casey asked.

“The government is feeding people the virus through the Bliss. It slows down the spread, but it doesn’t make it stop forever.” Gally sighed, dropping his head into his hand. Thao glanced at Minho, who was clenching and unclenching his hand slightly. 

“And problem two?” Thomas asked, staring hard at Gally.

“People like us.” Gally said simply.

“Immunes?” Audrey asked.

“Yeah. They’re disappearing left and right. People hate us.” Gally explained. 

“You think they’re being killed or something?” Thomas asked.

“No I-” Minho dropped to the floor, and began to seize again. Thao ran over to him, shoving the desk aside so he didn’t hit his head. “He started again?” Gally asked, shocked. He dropped to his knees by Minho’s side.

“We don’t have his medication.” Thao explained. “That’s two in two days.” Gally shook his head. It only lasted two minutes before Minho stopped shaking, laying unconscious on the ground between Gally and Thao. Gally sighed, leaning against the askew desk. 

“I doubt they’re killing us,” He continued, looking up at Thomas. “It’s a bad combination. People getting sick and dying, and the immunes disappearing. There ain’t gonna be anyone left in Denver.”

“What’s that matter?” Jorge asked.

“The population dying out and the world being taken over by man eating crazies doesn’t scare ya?” Gally asked, staring hard at the man. 

“I think he wants to know what you think we should do about it.” Casey told him quietly.

“Why ya trusting this girl? Huh? I thought she was the nutcase that brought the end to us or something?” Gally pointed out.  _ He’s so out of the loop _ .

“Yeah, because WICKED made her. It’s not her fault for what they did to her.” Audrey defended. “And didn’t you just say there’s more important things to worry about than the past?” 

“What do you want us to do about it?” Thomas asked, ignoring Gally’s comment about Casey.    


“Hey, all I know is that WICKED has one directive--to find a cure. And it’s pretty obvious that’s never going to happen. If we had their money, their resources, we could use it to really help. To protect the healthy. I thought you’d want that. The cities are crumbling, and pretty soon it’s going to be a world of psychos who want to eat you for supper. Not like we have much to lose, so we ought to try something.”    


Audrey looked like she wanted to say something then, but kept her mouth shut and looked to Thao. ‘What about Newt?’ She mouthed, seeming torn between argueing and agreeing with what Gally was saying.    


“But there’s one more thing.” Gally sighed, and Thao snapped her attention back to him. She still had a hand laying over Minho’s chest, and another holding his hand.   

“That doesn't sound good.” Thomas groaned.    


“Never does these days. One of our people out looking for your group came across a strange rumor. Said it was somehow related to all these people escaping from the WICKED headquarters. I’m not sure if they could track you or not, but it looks like they probably could’ve guessed you’d come to Denver anyway.”    


“What’s the rumor?” Casey asked.    


“There’s a huge bounty out for a guy named Hans who used to work there, lives here now. WICKED thinks you came here for him, and now they want him dead.” 

“We have to leave. Now.” Brenda said, heading towards the door. Minho was just starting to wake up again.    


“Not until Minho is okay.” Audrey pointed out, moving to kneel beside Thao.    


“Gally, do you swear everything you told us is true?” Thomas asked, holding Brenda back.    


“Every bit. The Right Arm wants to take action. They’re planning something even as we speak. They need information about WICKED, though, and who better to help us then you? If we can get the other group, with Frypan, too, that’d be even better. We need every warm body we can get.” 

“Let’s get shucking going then.” Minho groaned, sitting up.

“Minho, be careful.” Audrey protested as he began to get to his feet, using Gally’s arm for balance. 

“I’m fine, shank,” Minho rolled his eyes, throwing his arm around Thao’s neck in a casual gesture that appeared carefree. Thao could feel the weight he put on her, but everyone else seemed to buy his act. “Didn’t even piss my pants.” He whispered to Thao. 

“How romantic.”

“That’s me, the romance master.” Minho agreed, adjusting his shirt. 

“What do we do if we want in?” Thomas asked, turning to Gally.

“Just come back here.” He told them with a small smile. “Anytime in the next week.” Thomas held his hand out to Gally, and he shook it. 

“I don’t blame you, Gally. Just don’t plan on hugs every time I see ya.” Thomas grinned. Gally returned the grin.

“Feeling’s mutual.”

“Hey now,” Minho protested, clapping his hand down on Gally’s shoulder. “I personally am deeply in love with ya and expect more than hugs every time.” Gally shook his head. 

“Get going, ya shanks. Time’s runnin’ out.” 

“See ya around, Gally.” Thao smiled as they left the room. Once again, Minho and Thao took up the rear, Minho’s arm still around her shoulders. 

“Hey,” Gally’s voice stopped them in the doorway. “I’ll do everything I can to get his meds before anything happens to that place.”

 

\------------------------

 

They didn’t find Hans until the next day. 

Jorge got them into a cheap motel after they’d purchased some clothes and food. Thomas and Casey used the room’s computer to search the Netblock while Jorge and Brenda made dozens of calls to people they’d never mentioned before. Thao, Minho and Audrey had been in charge of looking over the map of the city, although none of them were much help. Audrey was too worried about leaving Newt out in the Berg by himself for a night, and Thao and Minho had the same worries, and his seizures to think about. 

When it came time to sleep, Jorge and Brenda got the twin bed while everyone else had to sleep on the floor. It wasn’t the most comfortable option, but it was better than the sand back in the Scorch.    


The next morning they showered, ate and put on their new clothes. They got a cab as soon as they possibly could, and went straight to the place Jorge’s friend had told them Hans lived--an apartment building in only slightly better shape than Gally’s. They climbed to the fourth floor and knocked on a gray metal door.    


“What if WICKED got to him first?” Audrey whispered from beside Thao.    


But the door opened a second later to woman, looking around at the group. She kept saying she’d never heard of a Hans before. Jorge kept pushing though, and eventually a gray-haired man with a wide jaw peeked over the woman’s shoulder.    


“Let them in.” He said in a gravelly voice.    


Minutes later they were seated around a kitchen table, all staring at Hans.    


“It’s good to see you’re okay Brenda.” He said. “You too, Jorge. But I’m not in the mood to catch up. Why don't you just tell me what you want.”   


“You know the main reason we’re here, but we also just heard WICKED put a bounty on your head. We need to hurry and do this, and then you need to get out of here.” Brenda replied.    


“You kids still have the implants, do ya?”    


“I only want the controlling device out. I don’t want my memories back. And I want to know how this operation works first.” Thomas spoke quickly. 

“Getting cold feet, coward? Who is this bastard, Brenda?” Hans asked, looking at Thomas in disbelief. Thao wanted to laugh at Thomas’s hurt expression. 

“I’m tired of having people in my head.” Thomas explained bluntly, slipping his hand into Casey’s. 

“Who said I’d do anything to your head? Who said I liked you lot enough for that?” Hans argued.

“Are there any nice people in Denver?” Minho asked bluntly, turning to Jorge. Hans sighed, and got to his feet.

“Give me five minutes to prep.” He left the room without another word, and the group broke into hushed whispers.

“What’s he going to do to us?”

“Are you sure this is the guy?”

“I don’t trust him.”

“What about Newt, we gotta get it out of his head too.”

“Will you lot shut up?” Brenda demanded, leaning back in her chair. “You alright Thomas?” The boy, who hadn’t said anything since Hans left the room, had his head buried in his arms. Minho reached out and placed a hand on the boy’s back. 

“Yeah- I just-” Thomas’s whole body stiffened, his legs snapping forward. The chair slid backward, and Thomas slid to the floor.

“Tom?”

“Thomas?”

“Tomboy, what’s wrong?” Minho dropped to his knees beside Thomas, putting a hand on his shoulder. Thomas’s whole body started shaking, a mirror image of Minho’s seizures. “Oh my God!” Minho yelled, pushing the surrounding chairs away.

Thomas yelled as his limbs hit harshly against the floor around him. Thomas stared up at them in horror, trying to form words. “Thomas what’s wrong?” Casey asked, trying to calm him down. Minho looked to Thao in horror. She shook her head in disbelief, looking to Jorge. 

“What do we-” She started, but stopped when Thomas abruptly stopped moving. “Thomas?”

“Are you okay?” Audrey asked, still on her feet. Thomas’s face contorted in pain, like he was trying to fight something. He slowly got to his feet, eyes panicked. 

“Tomboy, what’s wrong? Tommy?” Minho stood up beside him, reaching out to place a hand on Thomas’s shoulder. Thomas’s hand shot up, catching Minho’s wrist in his hand. He twisted Minho’s arm so that he fell to his knees.

“I- I can’t let....you do..... this.”

“Thomas, they’ve got you!” Brenda yelled. “Fight it!” But Thomas just pushed her back and kept repeating the words over and over, each time more strained.   


“Thomas!” Minho shouted “Fight it, man! Get those shuck people out of your head!” Thomas turned to face him and drew his knife up. He moved towards Minho, but it was like he was trying to push through an invisible barrier to get there.    


“You gonna kill me,  slinthead? Gonna throw that thing just like Gally did to Chuck? Do it, then. Throw it!”    


For a second Thao was scared he would, and he almost did. But at the last second he swung around to face Hans, who had just reentered the room.    


“What the hell is this?” Hans asked, looking at everyone else.    


“I can’t...let you…. do this.” Thomas said again.    


“I was worried about this.” Hans muttered. “You guys get over here and help!”    


Thomas rose the knife up again, and his jaw was clenched tightly. Thao looked over at everyone else, as Minho slammed into him and knocked the knife out of his hands. Thank god.    
“I’m not letting you kill anybody.”    


“Get off me!” Thomas yelled, squirming underneath Minho. But Minho had his arms pinned down, and he wasn’t going anywhere.    


“I’m not getting up until they let your mind go.”    


“It won't stop until Hans fixes him.” Brenda informed everyone.    


Hans moved to kneel down beside the two boys. “I can’t believe I ever worked for those people. For you.” He nearly spat. Thao turned to glance at Audrey and Casey with a worried expression. Would he actually help them?    


Thomas suddenly bucked and fought to free his arms. Minho pressed down and tried to keep the boy still, but Thomas threw him off and grabbed the knife, jumping to his feet. He dove towards Hans, lashing out with the blade. The blade connected with the man’s forearm, and drops of blood instantly hit the white tile floor.

Thao felt her feet moving before she could process her actions. She lunged onto Thomas’s back, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist, and grasping his arm holding the knife. He started to fight back, trying to get her off of him. “Thomas!” She yelled, hearing the blade collide with the metal in her fingers. “Fight them!”

“C’mon Tom!” Casey screamed, running forward. She tackled him from the side, and the three of them fell to the floor. Minho was at their side’s within seconds, hoping on top of Thomas. 

“I can’t let you do this!” Thomas screamed, sounding terrified and defiant. Thao struggled to hold his hand to the floor, while Casey pushed the blade away. It skidded across the floor, landing at Audrey’s feet. Audrey picked it up, the remaining blood now covering her hands. She twirled it around, staring at it in awe. 

Thao looked back to Minho, who seemed to be struggling quite a bit. Considering the seizures he was having, it wasn’t really a surprise, but it was definitely a disadvantage and Thomas thrashed about. “Shut... up!” Minho shouted, panting. “They’re making you crazy, dude!”

“He’s not crazy!” Casey protested. Thomas managed to free one of his legs, kicking Minho hard in the stomach, sending him toppling backwards. Casey was quick to move, straddling Thomas and pinning him down by the shoulders. “Tom!”

He screamed and thrashed about, staring desperately into Casey’s eyes. His cheeks were wet with tears, but he kept repeating the klunk WICKED was feeding him. Thao pushed harder on Thomas’s arms as Hans approached them again, a syringe full of clear liquid in his hand. He quickly jammed it into Thomas’s thigh, who screamed out in agony. 

A few more moments of screaming and fighting, and them Thomas began to still, his movements getting more and more tired. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “I hate those shucks.” He murmured, before passing out. 

 

\--------------- 

 

A few hours later, everyone had been put under and had the WICKED material removed from their heads. Thao felt a dull ache behind her eyes, but other then that there was no way of knowing if Hans had actually done anything to her. To anyone really.     


Thomas was much more like himself when he woke up, and there were no more incidents with the knife at all. He was back to being himself again. _ If only it were that simple when it came to Newt…  _ _   
_

They said their goodbyes to Hans and his wife, thanking him for his help before he set off on the run. They traveled to a coffee shop nearby, recommended by the couple as they left.    
It was amazing to watch the people around them. Customers lined up at the counter, getting their coffee and pastries before leaving or sitting down at a table. It was as if the world outside the walls didn’t exist to them.    


A red-shirted guard stood at the door, randomly testing people for the Flare with his handheld device every couple of minutes, and it made Thao nervous. It didn’t matter that she was immune, all she could think is what if the device malfunctioned and said someone who is immune is infected? 

They sat at a table in the back corner while Jorge and Brenda went to get food and drinks. No one really said much while they waited, too busy observing everyone else who came into the shop.    


“How much longer do you think we’ll be in here?” Audrey whispered to Thao a few seconds later.    


“Thomas wants us to find the other group and then go back to see Gally. Which means it could be a while probably.” Thao mumbled back.    


“What about Newt? We told him a few hours. It’s been nearly two days.” Audrey frowned. “I know finding the others is something we have to do and that organization Gally was talking about is important but….. we can’t just leave him in there like that.” 

Thao knew she was right, but Newt would kill them if they missed this kind of chance. “He’d do it, if the roles were reversed with him and Min.” 

“Would you?”

“Leave Min, this shuck-face alone on the berg for two days? With pleasure.” Thao laughed.

“Well I wouldn’t,” Casey laughed, shaking her head and playing with the collar of Thomas’s shirt. “You are too curious for your own good. You’d probably get yourself blown up. Someone has to be there to protect you.”

“Oh my hero.” Thomas scoffed, moving a lock of hair out of Casey’s face and tucking it behind her ear. 

“Well aren’t you two grossly cute?” Audrey scoffed, playing with the take out cup which was holding her coffee. She had taken one sip of the thing, and almost spit it back out.

“Uhm, Thomas?” Brenda piped up, looking between him and Casey. “Do you think I could have a word?  _ Alone _ ?” 

“More secrets?” Minho asked, his shoulders tensing. 

“Could you guys just wait outside, please? For a moment?” Brenda begged. Casey sighed, but rose to her feet, nonetheless. 

“Come on, shanks. Let’s leave these two lovebirds alone.” She adjusted her jacket, and leaned down to pressed a long, intimate kiss to Thomas’s mouth. “Don’t forget protection, kids.” She led the way out the door, a newfound confidence in her step.

“Case, you are amazing.” Thao laughed, grabbing Casey’s hand and skipping a few steps away from the door.

“Sure showed her who’s boss.” Audrey agreed, joining the other two. They waited outside the cafe, leaning against the brick wall. Minho found a discarded cigarette on the pavement, and held it up. 

“Hey, look at this, unused.” He laughed, twirling it between his fingers. “Anyone got a lighter?” 

“No, you slinthead, that will kill you.” Audrey protested, trying to snatch it from him. He held it high, so they she couldn’t reach it even if she jumped. Thao smirked, walking over to the boy. She pressed herself against his chest, reaching up on the arm holding the cigarette. She smirked at him as he lowered his arm so that their hands were at the same height. 

She stood up on her toes, and he leaned forward ever-so-slightly. “What? You want this or something?” He asked, tongue darting out to wet his lips. Thao let her hands fall, fingers tangling themselves in the fabric of his shirt.

“I want something alright.” She pulled at his shirt harshly, causing him to lean down until they were eye to eye.

“We’ve got an infected!” The Flare-tester shouted from inside the cafe. “Everyone evacuate the building!” Screams filled the air, and people began to run out of the building, screaming for help.   


It was only once they had made it onto the sidewalk that she realized Thomas hadn’t moved.    


“What the shuck is he doing?” Audrey mumbled, as Brenda moved to pound on the glass window and try to get him out. But of course, he stayed where he was. Because it was Thomas, and Casey had been right, he was too curious for his own good.    


All the others could do was watch as the man in the Red Shirt turned the gun on Thomas and made him sit in the chair, yelling something they couldn’t hear at him. 

“He’s going to get himself killed.” Brenda huffed, glaring at him.    


“He won’t. He might be a curious idiot, but he’s a smart idiot.” Casey defended, but she was also glaring at Thomas from outside.    


They all watched as Red Shirt tested him with his device, before seeming to ignore Thomas as his assistance arrived. Four people with thick green plastic suits appeared, covering everything but their faces. They had big goggles on, and beneath that was a mask.    


Red Shirt and the others approached the infected man, who struggles against them for a while. Through the glass, Thao could only see the suits for a while, and didn’t know what was happening. 

But then, they moved and Thao could see the man properly. On of the green plastic suits hand a odd blue object pressed against the crown of the man's skull. But the worse bit was that it was shooting out a gel-like substance that was blue, and moved to quickly cover half of the man. It looked like it froze, or hardened as it went. 

Red Shirt turned back to Thomas, saying something that looked sarcastic. Thomas looked a bit panicked, and took a step back towards the doorway. “Shuck. The shanks gonna get himself killed.” Minho grunted, darting to the door.

“Min!” Thao whisper-yelled, glaring at him. Minho stopped in the doorway, hands raised to him shoulders. Thao couldn’t understand what Red Shirt was saying, but by Minho’s half of the conversation, she figured the man didn’t want anyone else in there. 

“Are you guys ‘Munies too?” Thao heard the man ask. He turned to look at the window, locking eyes with Thao. 

“Run!” She heard Minho shout. His hand grabbed her wrist, yanking her away from the man. For the first time since the Maze, she let herself full out run. Minho remained beside her, though no longer holding her hand. They knew if they got caught they had no chance of saving Thomas or getting back to Newt. 

“Shuck, Min, we gotta hide!” Thao yelled, pulling him down and alley. They ran harder, as fast as they had that night in the maze. Minho stopped suddenly, pulling her behind a rusty dumpster. 

“Let’s just wait ‘em out. We probably aren’t their top priority at the moment.” Minho breathed hard, knocking the back of his head against the steel wall behind him. Thao stared at him, heart pounding, a small smile playing on her lips. “I know, that was awesome.”

 

\------------------- 

 

“There he is!” Minho held a bit later in the day, running back down the sidewalk towards Thomas, with everyone following behind him. Thao was beside him, and slowed as she saw Red Shirt laying in a heap on the ground.    


“Holy…. what happened to him?” She asked. 

“And you. You okay?” Minho asked. “Did you do that?” 

Everyone else had caught up now, and looked just as confused as her and Minho. “Yeah, I pulled out my machine gun and blasted him to bits.” Thomas said sarcastically. 

“Who killed him?”    


Thomas pointed up. “One of those cop machines. Flew in here, shot him to death and the next thing I know the Rat Man appears on a screen. He tried to convince me that I need to go back to WICKED.”    


“Wait, they found us?”    


“Dude, you can’t even--”    


“Give me some credit! There’s no way I’d go back, but maybe them needing me so much could help us at some point. What we should be worried about is Newt. Janson thinks that Newt’s succumbing to the Flare a lot faster than average. We have to check on him.”    


“What?” Audrey was shaking to Thao’s left. “He really said that?”    


“Yeah. And I believe him on this. You all saw how Newt’s been acting.” Thomas nodded “We better check on him somehow. Do something for him.”    


“Then let’s go now!” Audrey insisted. “We can’t leave him out there in the Berg for much longer anyways. Not when we promised a few hours.” 

“It’s getting late.” Brenda pointed out “And they don't let people in and out of the city at night--it’s hard enough to keep things under control during the day.” 

Jorge shook his head. “That’s the least of our problems. Something weird’s going on around this place, muchachos.”    


“What do you mean?”    


“All the people seem to have vanished in the last half an hour, and the few I’ve seen don’t look right.” 

“So?” Minho asked, shrugging. “We need to get out of here. Go find Newt, and then get Gally, or something.”

“Can we make it back?” Thomas asked.

“Can we break out?” Casey asked, looking around. Thao sighed, looking for a cab.

“Maybe, the airport is pretty far, but we can try.” Jorge shrugged. The group set off, looking around for any sign of a cab that could get them back. After an hour of searching, they still hadn’t found anything.

“How far is the airport?” Audrey asked, wrapping her arms around herself as the cool air bit into her skin. 

“About ten miles, we won’t make it tonight.” Jorge told them.

“How far are we from the motel?” Thao asked.

“Just a few blocks. We’ll head out first thing in the morning.” Thao nodded, and followed Jorge back to the motel. The walked back to their room, after asking for extra blankets from the from desk. 

Jorge and Brenda took the bed again, and Audrey curled up on the ripped armchair, leaving the other four to camp out on the floor. Thomas was lying on his side behind Casey, his arm thrown haphazardly over her waist. 

Minho lay on his back, Thao’s head placed on his stomach. The pair lay awake for a long time, staring at the moonlit ceiling. Minho’s fingers ran through her hair, and he shifted to look at her. “Thay?”

“Mhm?” She muttered, nearly asleep. 

“The Flare is hitting him so hard. What do you think he’ll be like when we get back?” He whispered, his fingers stilling in her hair. 

“Past the Gone.” Thao whispered back, rolling onto her side to face him.

“Way to make me feel better.” Minho blinked rapidly, looking up at the ceiling.

“I don’t want to lie to you.” Thao told him, pressing a quick kiss to his stomach. “He’s not going to be Newt when we get back. You need to be prepared for that.”

“I’m not ready for that.” A small voice admitted from the armchair. Thao felt guilt crawl in her stomach, and she shut her eyes quickly.

“Auds, come lay with us.” Minho suggested. They heard a shuffle of feet, and Audrey’s shadow covered them. She laid down on Minho’s other side, placing her hands on her stomach. “With us, not beside us, shank.”

He reached out, his arm snaking around her shoulders and pulling her to her side. She sighed, and hesitantly placed her hand on his chest. Thao reached out, wrapping her hand around Audrey’s. “You’re gonna be okay, shank.” Thao murmured. In the moonlight, she could see tears glistening on Audrey’s cheeks. Thao sighed, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

 

\------------

 

They left the motel the next morning at eight o’clock, wondering what they’d find in the city on their way out to check on Newt. They’d gotten quick showers in and grabbed a bite from the vending machine.

They saw some people here and there, but far fewer than they’d seen during the busy hours of the day before. 

“Something’s up, I’m telling ya.” Jorge said as they made their way down the street in search of a cab. “There should be more folks out and about.” 

There were a few people walking around them, but no one would meet the group's eye. They all walked with a hurried, frantic gait, almost jumping out of the way when another person got to close. 

“Let’s hurry and get to the shuck airport.” Minho muttered, “This place gives me the creeps.”    


“We should probably go up that way.” Brenda said, pointing. “There have to be cabs around those business offices.”    


They crossed the street and headed down a narrower one that passed looked like an empty lot on one side and an old, dilapidated building on the other.    


Minho leaned into Thomas and Thao, and half whispered “I’m a little shucked in the head right now. I’m scared of what we’re gonna find with Newt.”    


“Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s fine for now.” Thomas shrugged.    


“Good that. And the cure for the Flare’s gonna fly out of your butt any second.” Minho scoffed, shaking his head.    


“Who knows, maybe it will. Might smell funny though.” Thomas joked. “Look, we can’t do anything until we get there and see him.”    


“Thanks for the pep talk.” Minho said, and Thomas walked ahead to Casey. Audrey fell back a little as he did, but couldn’t get a word in before Casey and Thomas froze in place.    


Thao followed Thomas’s hand that was pointing out towards a shirtless man with his back to them. He was hunched over something, digging with his hands like he’d lost something in the mud and was trying to find it. Oddly shaped scratches covered his shoulders, and there was long scab crossing the middle of his spine. His movements were jerky and… desperate. His elbows kept popping back like he’d torn something loose from the ground. The tall weeds prevented anyone from catching a glimpse of the man’s attention.    


“Let’s keep moving.” Brenda whispered.    


“That guy’s sick,” Minho whispered back. “How’s he loose like this?”    


“Let’s just go.” Thomas mumbled.    


The group started walking again, but when they reached the end of the block the man sprung up and turned towards them. Blood cover his mouth and nose, and he bared his teeth in a nasty grin, then held up bloody hands as if to show them off.    


Then he ran at them, and the group all turned and ran. Thao heard a small cry from behind once they’d rounded a corner, and turned back to see Audrey on the ground. She pushed herself up before crying out again, hands flying to her right ankle.    


“Audrey, get up!” Minho called, turning back and moving towards the blonde. She tried, but she must have sprained her ankle or something.    


After two more attempts of Audrey trying to get up on her own, Minho picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.    


“Go!” Minho yelled, but the guy had stopped chasing them, so it didn’t matter any more. 

It took another half an hour before they found a cab, but they were finally on their way.    


“Okay, what the shuck happened to your ankle?”    


“I tripped over something when we were running, it isn’t too bad. Just needs to rest for a while.” Audrey huffed. “Let’s just focus on getting back to Newt.” 

 

\------------

 

Thao half expected Newt to coming running down the hatch door, arms outspread, huge grin. Of course, he didn’t though,and something didn’t feel right about the whole situation. 

“Something’s wrong.” Minho muttered, running up the door and disappearing into the dark berg. Thao was on his heels within seconds. 

“Min.” She grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. “You can’t just run in here like that. You’ll get yourself killed.” Minho rolled his eyes, pulling his knife out, and started to walk away. 

They headed towards the common area, which was the only room in the Berg with the light on. Minho pushed open the door, taking in the empty couches. Newt wasn’t there. “Shuck, where is he?” Minho muttered, turning to walk out of the room.

“Min, what’s that?” Thao asked, pointing to a piece of paper thrown onto the coffee table.

“Looks like a note.” Minho said, walking over to the coffee table and picking it up. Thao followed behind him, reading it over his shoulder.

**They got inside somehow. They’re taking me to live with the other Cranks.**

**It’s for the best. Thanks for being my friends.**

**Goodbye.**

Thao’s heart stopped. Minho’s hands started shaking, and neither of the moved, or said a word. In the bottom, right hand corner, was another, smaller note, scrawled in the same black marker.

**Move on Audrey. No sense crying over a Crank.**

Minho dropped the note to his side, crumpling the paper slightly in his hand. He walked forward with stiff, robotic movements. He sat down on the couch in front of her, staring down at the paper in his hands. “Is this his idea of a  _ bloody _ joke?” He whispered, his voice hoarse. 

Loud footsteps echoed down the hallway, and Thao knew it was Thomas. He burst through the doorway, but neither of them moved. “Hey,” Thomas asked, his voice unsteady. “What is it?” Neither of them said anything. Minho continued to stare at the paper, hands shaking. Thao stared blankly at the couch Minho was sitting on. “What’s wrong?” Thomas asked gently, and Thao heard him take a step towards them.

“Come see for yourself.” Minho said, holding the paper out to Thomas, while slouching back on the couch, He glanced up to meet Thao’s eyes, already on the verge of tears. “He’s gone.” Thomas walked over, and took the paper from him. 

His eyes quickly scanned over the words. Thomas blinked at the paper, and read it again, as if he believed the words were lying to him. “Newt.” He whispered, dropping onto the couch beside Minho. Thao crouched down in front of the boys, placing a hand on each of their knees. 

“Boys. Dudes, it’ll be okay, he’s gonna be-” She began, trying to comfort the boys in the best way possible,

“Did you find him?” A hopeful voice asked from the door.  _ Audrey. _


	9. Minho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That last chapter was heartbreaking, and I can't promise this one will be much happier

Minho looked up at the sound of Audrey’s voice, a stray tear slipping down his cheek. He watched as her smile slowly faded. Thomas held the paper up, dropping his head.

She stumbled her way over to the couch and snatched the note from Thomas’s hand. He watched her eyes flick over the words, before she frowned and read the note again, and again. Finally she scrunched it up and threw it away as she fell on the other couch.    


His gaze shifted to Thao, who had already moved to sit beside her.    


Audrey didn’t say anything though, and just kind of fell apart as Thao pulled her into a hug.    


“I want you all to listen to me.” Minho started a while later, once Brenda and Jorge had re-entered the room. “Ever since we broke out of WICKED, I’ve basically gone along with whatever you slintheads ended up saying we should do. And I haven’t complained. Much.” He tried to give a grin, but he wasn’t really feeling it. “But right now, right now, I’m making a decision and you’re going to do what I say. And if anyone pushes back, to hell with you.”    


Audrey lifted her head up to look at him, and probably would have jumped out of her seat at him if she hadn’t hurt her ankle earlier.  _ She can’t come with us… not when she’s hurt. Crank Newt or not, he’d murder us for bringing her with...  _   


“I know we have bigger goals in mind. We need to connect with the Right Arm, figure out what to do about WICKED--all that save-the-world klunk. But first we’re going to find Newt. This isn’t open for discussion. We’re flying to whenever we need to go, and we’re getting Newt out of there.”    


“They call it the Crank Palace,” Brenda said “It has to be what he was talking about. Some of those Red Shirts probably broke into the Berg, found Newt and saw that he was infected. Let him leave us a note. I don’t have any doubt that’s what happened.”     


“I have _ every _ doubt that’s what happened. Why let him leave a note?” Audrey spoke for the first time since seeing the note. “I think he left willingly.”  She had a point, the note didn’t add up to how they’d seen the Red Shirts act inside the city.    


“You ever been there?” He asked Jorge, but Brenda answered instead.    


“No. Every major city has a Crank palace--a place where they send the infected and try to make it bearable for them until they reach the Gone. I don’t know what they do to them then, but it’s not a pretty place to be, no matter who you are, so I can only imagine. Immunes run things there, and get paid a lot for it because a non-Immune would never risk catching the Flare. If you want to go, we should think long and hard about it at first. We’re out of ammunition, so we’ll be unarmed.” 

Minho looked at Thomas, feeling hopeful for the first time since the shank came out of the Box. “You know where the closest one is?” He asked, turning to Jorge.

“Yeah, we passed over it on the way here, not too far away.”

“Then let’s get this piece of klunk revved up.” Minho said confidently, slapping his hand on the arm of the couch. 

“We’ll be there in twenty.” Jorge told him, getting to his feet and exiting the room. Brenda followed him, shooting a strange, disapproving look in Minho’s direction, before slipping from the room. 

“I’m just going to... throw up or something?” Audrey whispered. She quickly got to her feet and started towards the door.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Casey asked, reaching for Audrey’s hand as she shuffled past. Audrey could barely walk, there was no way she was leaving the berg.

“No-no. I really-I just- alone. Yeah, I need to be alone.” Audrey stressed, pulling away from Casey and limping out the door. Minho sighed, looking straight at Thomas. The kid had a hard, determined look in his eyes, as he slung a loose arm over Casey’s shoulder. She leaned into him, burying her face into his shirt. Minho and Thao rose to their feet at the same time, not saying a word.

“Someone needs to stay on the Berg with Audrey, she can barely move.” Minho told them, walking towards the door. Thao followed wordlessly behind him.

“I will.” Casey told him, pulling away from Thomas. She wasn’t crying, but she looked terrified, something Minho had never seen on her face before. “I am the least close to Newt anyways, it doesn’t make much sense for me to go.” Minho nodded at her, before leaving the room. 

He didn’t know where he was going, but he just needed to move. Thao moved to walk beside him, and their shaking hands brushed together lightly. Part of Minho wanted to hold her hand, to grab her, hold her close,  _ kiss her better _ . He wanted to be able to tell her that everything was going to be alright, but neither of them would ever believe that load of klunk. 

He broke into a sprint, running as fast as he could through the halls of the berg. With Thao by his side, and the endless grey walls, he felt as if he were back in the Maze. It provided a strange, centering feeling. It made him feel comforted, and the thought of the Maze reminded him that Newt was a survivor.

They stopped abruptly, as if something had jumped in their path, though nothing was there. “He’s my shucking best friend.” Minho whispered, letting his shaking hand settle against Thao’s leg. “What am I gonna do without him?” He felt like falling to the ground and breaking into a million pieces.

“You’re gonna go into that Crank place, and bring him back to us. You’re gonna save him from going crazy in that place. You’re gonna bring his shuck-leg back here, and show him just how important he is to us.” Thao told him, looking him dead in the eyes. The same hard, determined look that Thomas had earlier, was reflected in her glossy eyes.

His eyes flickered down for a moment, before meeting her eyes once more, almost sheepishly. He tried to take a deep breath, but it came as a shallow, shaky gasp of air. His hands started to shake harder, and he clenched them into fists, trying to stop them. He looked down at his feet, trying to calm himself down. He couldn’t even explain what he was feeling. There were so many emotions flowing through his bloodstream at once, he couldn’t decide if he wanted to scream or cry. 

Thao’s hands wrapped around his fists, pulling them together. He kept his eyes on the floor, not trusting them to not betray his current emotional crisis.  _ Shuck.  _ “He’s going to die,” Minho whispered, terrified his voice would break if he spoke any louder. Thao pulled their entwined hands up to her mouth, pressing soft kisses to each of his knuckles until his hands started shaking significantly less. “He’s going to die,” He repeated, not understanding if he was sad, worried, or just plain angry. “He’s going to die.”

“Yeah, he is, shank,” Thao told him, stepping closer so that their eyes met, despite his efforts to keep an intense eye contact with the floor. “It ain’t your fault, though. It ain’t his fault. It ain’t any of ours, it’s WICKED’s.” One of her hands left his, reaching up to cup his face. He immediately leaned into her touch. “And he ain’t going to die alone.” 

He gave her a half-hearted smiled, turning his face so that his lips brushed against her hand. She smiled back, holding their eye contact for a few more seconds, before pulling her hand away and dropping it to her side. “C’mon, Jorge said twenty minutes, we must be fairly close.” She turned her back to him, and began to walk down the hallway.

She was roughly six feet away when he lunged forward and grabbed her wrist out of desperation for further comfort. She spun quickly on the spot, slipping her arms around Minho’s waist, and burying her face into his chest. He responded by wrapping his own arms around her shoulders, threading one of his hands into her knotted hair. Her body shook slightly in his arms, and he felt his throat constricting. 

“Don’t ya start crying, shuck-face. Ya want me to start with the waterworks?” He asked, his vision already blurring with tears. When she didn’t respond, he pulled her even closer, pressing his face to her hair. “Ya can’t cry, Thay.” Minho muttered, tightening his fist in her hair. “What am I gonna do, when the one person who can be strong through this klunk, can’t even handle a missin’ person’s case?”

“Go get the dude back,” Thao told him, pulling away from him, and slipping her hand tentatively into his. “C’mon, aren’t you supposed to be my knight in shining armour or some klunk?” She pulled him down the hall, towards the hatch, and he followed like an obedient puppy. 

“I’m always gonna protect you, shank.” Minho mumbled, squeezing her hand.

“I know that, slinthead.”

\---------------

The Berg landed in a clearing along the beginnings of a forest that stretched up the surprisingly green mountainside. About half the trees were dead, but the other half looked as if they’d just begun to recover from years of massive heat spells. 

The group had stepped off the cargo ramp and took a look at the wall surrounding what had to be the Crank Palace just a few hundred feet away. Audrey and Casey were staying in the Berg while everyone else started towards the thick planks of wood. 

The closest gate was just beginning to open, and two people appeared, both of them holding huge Launchers. They looked exhausted, but wearily they took a defensive stance and aimed their weapons-- obviously they’d seen or heard the Berg’s approach.    


“Not a good start.” Jorge said. One of the guards shouted something, but Minho didn’t think anyone could have heard them. “Let’s just go over there, talk to them. They must be immune if they have those Launchers.” 

“Unless the Cranks took over,” Minho offered, but he grinned at Thomas anyways. “Either way, we’re going in, and we’re not leaving without Newt.” 

Everyone held up their hands high and slowly walked towards the gate, trying to avoid raising any alarm. As they got closer, it was easier to see the guards. They didn’t look as good up close. They were filthy, sweaty and covered in bruises and scratches. 

“Who the hell are you people?” The guard with black hair and a mustache and was taller than his partner by a few good inches. “You don’t look much like the science goons that come in sometimes.”    


Jorge did the talking, just as he had at the airport when they’d arrived in Denver. “You wouldn’t have known we were coming, muchacho. We’re from WICKED, and one of our guys got captured and taken here by mistake. We’ll be picking him up.” 

The guard didn’t seem too impressed. “You think I give a crap about you and your fancy WICKED jobs? You’re not the first uppity up to drop in here and act like you own the place. You wanna come hang out with the Cranks? Be my guest. Especially after what’s been going on lately.” He stepped aside and made an exaggerated sweeping gesture of welcome. “Enjoy your stay at the Crank Palace. No refunds or exchanges if you lose an eyeball.” 

“What do you mean, ‘what’s been going on lately’? What’s happening?” 

The guy shrugged. “It’s just not a very happy place, and that’s all you need to know.” 

“Well...do you know if any new… people were brought here in the last day or two? Do you have a register?” Thomas asked.

The other guard who was short and stocky with a shaved head, cleared his throat and then spit. “Who you looking for? A he or she?”    


“A he. His name is Newt. A little taller than me, blonde hair, kinda shaggy. Has a limp.” Thomas answered again. 

The guy spite again, before responding. “I might know something. But knowin’ and tellin’ are two different things. You kids look like you got plenty of money. Wanna share?” 

“We’ve got money, shuck-face. Now tell us where our friend is.” Minho spoke up before Jorge or Thomas had a chance. This was getting ridiculous.  

The guard jabbed the Launcher toward them a little more fiercely. “Show me your cash cards or this conversation is over. I want at least a thousand.” 

A few minutes the guards had escorted them two rings away from the Central Zone and told the group to wait. They were all huddled in some shade behind one of the shacks. The Crank Palace was a horribly filthy place. It was also fairly abandoned, since everyone apparently holes up at home on the Bliss or hiding out in the disgusting buildings playing or eating or up to no good.    


And yet, the cacophony was growing louder by the minute, as if a massive brawl was taking place right around the corner. 

Ten minutes after the guards had left, two people came out of a hut across the narrow pathway from them. They were a couple, holding hands and wearing wrinkles clothing, and other than being a little dirty they didn’t look too threatening. 

They approached the group and stopped in front of them. “When did you get here?” the woman asked.    


Brenda was quick to answer. “We came with the last group. We’re actually looking for our friend who was with us. HIs name is Newt-- blond hair, has a limp. Have you seen him?” 

“Lots of people with blonde hair around here--how’re we supposed to tell who’s who? What kind of name is Newt anyway?” The man answered as if he’d just heard the dumbest question of his life. 

Minho was ready to make a snarky comeback when the noise coming from the center of town picked up and everyone turned to look. The couple gave each other concerned looks, before scurrying off to their home without another word, slamming their door. 

“They look about as happy to be here as we are,” Thomas said. 

Jorge grunted. “Real friendly. I think I’ll come back to visit.” 

“They obviously haven’t been here long.” Brenda said. “I can’t imagine what that must feel like. Finding out you’re infected, being sent to live with the Cranks, seeing what you’re about to become right in front of you.” 

“Where are those guards?” Minho asked, growing more impatient by the second. “How long does it take to find someone and tell ‘em their friends are here?” 

It was another ten minutes or so before the guards reappeared around the corner. 

‘What’d you find out?” Minho asked in a rush, jumping to his feet with everyone else following suit. 

The short one seemed fidgety, his eyes darting, as if he’d lost his brazenness from before. It was his partner who answered though. 

“Took some asking around, but I think we found your guy. Looks just like you described, and he turned towards us when we called his name. But…” They guards exchanged uncomfortable looks. 

“But what?” Thao pushed. 

“He said-- very pointedly, I might add-- to tell you guys to get lost.” 

 

\--------

 

Minho’s hands were shaking again by the time they got to the bowling alley. It was obvious that someone was going to put up a fight, and it would very likely be Newt himself. Minho shouldered past Thomas, and the guards, poking his head through the doorway. The place was dimly lit, the floorboards ripped up, and the place had a rotting stench. 

He scanned the area, looking for any sign of their boy. Finally, after he had nearly given up, Minho spotted a mop of blonde locks in the far corner of the room. He couldn’t see any of Newt’s face, but he could tell by the death grip on the launcher in his hands that it definitely was, in fact, Newt.

“He’s in there.” Minho muttered, pulling back from the doorway to look at the other two, ignoring their company. “Let’s go get him.” Minho said, specifically to Thao and Thomas. “You two deal with the money issue, and we’ll go in and grab him.” He said to Brenda  and Jorge.

“We’re coming in there.” Brenda insisted, crossing her arms, looking protectively at Thomas. Minho didn’t think he’d ever wanted to throttle someone as badly as he did Brenda. He also wanted to pin her to a wall and make out with her, but he’d kill her right after.  _ God, why did she have to be so annoying _ ? 

“Good try, darlin’, Newtie boy isn’t gonna come out with just anyone. It’s not man power that’s gonna bring him back with us.” Minho said in a sickly sweet voice. Thao gave him a strange look, but didn’t say anything as he turned to lead the pair into the alley. They walked toward the bench which Newt was sitting on, trying to keep out of the way of all the other inhabitants. They were about ten feet away when Newt called out to them.

”I told you bloody shanks to get lost!” Minho stopped in his tracks, breath catching in his throat. His chest felt like a thousand bullets were cascading through his chest at once. Thomas and Thao slammed into his back when he stopped, but he didn’t budge. Thomas gasped loudly when Newt shouted the words, fist clenching into the back of Minho’s shirt.

“We need to talk to you,” He said, moving forward again. Thomas’s hand dropped from his back, and Minho nearly shivered at the loss of contact. 

“Don’t come any closer,” Newt warned, his fingers gripping the launcher tightly. Minho couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He knew it was a lost cause, but he made a promise to Thao, and he wasn’t prepared to let her down without putting up a fight. When Thomas spoke up, Minho could feel the lost hope slipping from the younger boy, as he tried to convince their blonde menace to return to them. 

“Newt, we can break you out of this piece of klunk place.” His voice was soft, but stern, like he didn’t know what approach would be best. “Come with us.” Newt spun around quickly, gripping the launcher so tightly, it shook. His eyes were filled with a crazed anger, and it was directed straight at them. Minho stumbled backward slightly, raising both his arms slightly, in a pathetic attempt to block Thomas and Thao from the launcher. 

“Woah there Newt, slim it nice and calm.” Thao said, taking a step forward, and pushing Minho’s arm down slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her hands were raised to shoulder height, and she had a surprisingly calm expression on her face. “No need to point that at our faces when we’re talkin’.”

“Where’d ya get that anyway?” Minho asked, eyeing Newt’s hand carefully. His finger was placed over the trigger, and Minho accepted that they weren’t getting out of this place with him without getting shot.

“I stole it from a guard that made me unhappy.” Newt shrugged, hands shaking slightly. He sighed, staring at each of them for a moment. “I’m not okay,” He admitted. “I appreciate you shanks coming for me, but this is where is bloody ends. We say our goodbyes, you head out that door, and never come back. Understood?”

“No one else you want to say goodbye to?” Minho asked, suddenly very bitter. 

“Understood?” Newt pressed, finger hovering over the trigger.

“No, Newt I don’t understand,” Minho very nearly exploded, hands shaking at his sides again.”We’re taking you home! We risked our necks coming to this shuck place to get you, and you ain’t leavin’ us now. You’re not going crazy with these Cranks, you can do it with us. And Audrey.” Newt’s face softened for a moment, before he glowed with anger once again. “She loves you Newt. She got hurt- pretty- pretty bad-” Minho lied, trusting the other two to follow along. “You aren’t going crazy with these shuck Cranks.”

Newt jumped to his feet, and Thomas stumbled backwards, bumping into a bench.  _ Slinthead _ . “I  _ am _ a Crank, Minho! I’m a  _ shucking  _ Crank. Audrey wouldn’t love a Crank. You all need to accept that that is who I am, and I’m not going to be happy-go-lucky  _ Newtie  _ anymore. I never  _ was _ , Thao, Minho, you know that. You know this is what I want.”

Minho stopped breathing at his words, literally unable to control his thoughts, as they raced back to the memory of Newt’s broken body in Thao’s arms. The image of his pained face when he woke up again, not even bothered by the splinter leg. 

“Would  _ you _ want your friends to watch you descend into madness, Minho? No? What about you Thao? I didn’t think so.” Newt scowled, shaking harder. Minho actually was at a loss for words. For the first time in his life, he couldn’t find a single word to say to Newt.

“And  _ you _ , Tommy,” Newt’s voice turned to a whisper, filling Minho’s body with icy fear. “You got a lotta nerve coming here and asking me to leave with you. A lot of bloody nerve. The sight of you makes me sick.” 

“What are you talking about?” Thao asked, looking wildly between the two boys. Minho looked at Thomas, finding him to be just as confused as they were. Newt was pointing the Launcher at Thomas’s chest, and Minho took a half-step in front of the boy. 

“I’m sorry guys.” Newt said quietly, lowering his weapon, and smiling softly. “Please leave. Please, i’m begging you. I’m planning on going to Denver later today, anyway.” He took a deep breath, eyes meeting Minho’s. “I just don’t want to hurt you guys. I know you don’t understand,but I’m begging you here.”

“I-I can’t.” Minho told him defiantly, shaking his head. 

“Shuck it!” Newt screamed, eyes flaring with anger again. “Get out of here!” He raised the launcher again, pointing it at Minho’s chest this time. He  _ almost _ wanted to dare the boy to do it.

“You going to shoot me? Old pal?” Minho asked, raising his hands.

“Go. I asked nicely.” Newt stressed, shaking the launcher slightly. 

“Let’s go.” Thomas said, pulling Minho’s sleeve. He reared on the younger boy.

“You can’t be serious.” Thomas nodded at him, and Minho felt a gentler hand on his shoulder, pushing his slightly towards the door. He couldn’t even turn to look at her. 

“I’m sorry.” Newt said, tears falling down his cheeks. Minho’s couldn’t contain his own tears at that moment, and the two of them stared at each other pathetically. “Tell her- tell her- I don’t know, tell her something romantic for me, yeah?” 

Minho nodded, taking one final look at his best friend, before he was pulled away. He had no recollection of walking through the bowling alley, but the second the outside air hit his skin, the numbness slipped away. He turned back towards the building, throwing his fist through the wooden boards holding the place together. The instant pain brought him back to his senses.

Somehow the group managed to walk back to the arched entrance of the Central zone without any issues and not a word spoken since they left Newt. 

“Run!” Someone yelled. “Run!” 

The two guards who had abandoned them rushed around the corner, showing no sign of slowing. Neither of them had the Launchers with them anymore, and they were running towards the farthest ring of the town and the Berg. 

“I said run, you idiots! Come on!” The guard with the mustache looked back when no one moved. 

The five sprinted after them, seeing as a cluster of Cranks were chasing them now, at least a dozen frantically trying to catch up. Seemed as though they’d reached the Gone and were close to passing it.

“What happened?” Minho asked, not really even registering the words coming out of his mouth. 

“They dragged us away from the Zone!” The shorter of the guards yelled. “I swear to god they were gonna eat us. We barely escaped.”    


“Don’t stop running!” The other guard added, before peeling off in another direction down a hidden alley.    


The others continued on the path that would lead them back to the Berg, where Casey and Audrey were. Minho tried not to think a whole lot about how they would have to tell her that they’d left him in that place, and how he fought against leaving. 

“They can’t catch us! Keep going, we’re almost there!” Thomas yelled, just as the exterior gate came into view ahead of them.   

They made it to the gate and passed through it without pausing, not bothering to close it. They just kept ran straight for the Berg, its hatch opening as Jorge pushed the buttons on his pad.    


They reached the ramp in record time, and the second everyone was more then half way up Jorge pushed another button to close it before taking off to fly the thing. 

The Cranks would never reach them in time, but that didn’t stop the screaming and shouting of nonsense. One even tried to hurl a rock at them, but it fell twenty feet short. 

Then the Berg was in the air, hovering just a few dozen feet in the air as the door sealed shut. 

Minho didn’t want to leave the viewing port as he watched the deliriously angry crowd grow below them. If he did, he would have to accept two things. Newt was gone. And Minho had to be the one to tell Audrey what happened, because that’s what Newt had asked.

“Guys?” Audrey’s voice was just above a whisper, and she stumbled her way across the room to where everyone else stood. Casey followed behind, much faster, and all but ran into Thomas.    


No one said anything after that for a long time, but Minho knew at some point Audrey would break down and ask how everything went down. Right now, they were all just focusing on the Cranks below. 

“Look at them down there,” Thomas said. “Who knows what they were doing a few months ago. Living in a high-rise, maybe, working at some office. Now they’re chasing people like wild animals.” 

“A few months ago they were miserable, scared to death of catching the Flare, knowing it’s inevitable.” Brenda answered, and Minho felt the need to kill her all over again.    


“How can you worry about  _ them _ ? What about  _ Newt _ ?” Minho asked, keeping himself from looking at Audrey.

“Nothing we could’ve done.” Jorge called from the cockpit. The Berg rose higher and flew away from the Crank Palace, leaving Newt behind with it.    


“I knew a few minutes after you guys left he wasn’t coming back” Audrey mumbled, leaning against a wall and sliding down. “Some part of you all leaving, my ankle getting twisted and the note just clicked.”    


Somehow that was worse then Minho having to tell her Newt wasn’t coming back.    


“We tried.” Thomas attempted to comfort her, but she moved back as he tried to pat her shoulder. “He just wouldn’t listen.”    


“I know.” She snapped, before looking at Minho. Thao sat right beside her, and both of them looked terrible. “I just... Did I miss anything important?”  Minho sighed, messing up his hair.

“He’s not past the Gone yet,” He started, playing with his fingers. He felt like a small child confessing to their mother. “He’s same ol’ grumpy Newt. Stole a guard’s launcher. Said the guy made him unhappy,” Audrey snorted at this, but didn’t smile. 

“He was really worried about you, when you weren’t there, thought something major had happened to you.” Minho was thankful the neither Thomas nor Thao’s faces betrayed him. Honestly, they all needed to hear a happier ending. “He didn’t want us to see him go like that. And honestly, I can understand, who would want their friends to watch them go nuts?” 

“What did he say about me?” Audrey asked in a small voice. 

“He told me that he loved you,” Minho’s hands were shaking again, he really needed to get that under control. “He didn’t tell me to tell you that, because I’m pretty sure you guys haven’t said that to each other, and he didn’t think you’d want to hear that from me.” Audrey was hanging off his every word. “He didn’t say much, it was mostly yelling at us to get out, but he did  tell me to tell you that you’re beautiful, and that you mean the world to him, and to keep on fighting.” 

The group sat in silence for a few more minutes, trying desperately not to think about Newt. It clearly wasn’t working, judging by the fact Thomas had one arm around a tearful Casey, and one around a crying Audrey. Seeing his friends so broken caused tears to prick at his eyes and his stomach churn. He jumped to his feet, storming out of the hatch towards the washroom.

He opened the door and walked through it, heading straight for the toilet. He heard the door shut and the lock click as he dropped to his knees, emptying his stomach. Thao hopped onto the counter, her head resting against the mirror. Minho shakily rose to his feet, walking over to the sink and rinsing his mouth out.

He stared at himself in the mirror for a long time. Thao said nothing, only started at the tiles on the shower. It was almost ten minutes before either of them spoke up, and Minho wasn’t ready for it. 

“You did the right thing, Shank.” Thao whispered, her eyes not leaving the shower. That did it for Minho, honestly, that was the straight up breaking point. The tears fell down his face, harder than they had in the bowling alley, harder than they had the night in the Maze, and nearly as hard as they had during his third trial. He collapsed to the floor, shaking with sobs, his arms wrapped tightly around himself, as if trying to hold all his broken pieces together. 

“Is that helping?” Thao asked, tone cold, but sounding partially curious. It sounded like Newt imitating Thomas.  _ Newt. Newt. Oh. _ More tears. “Because I promise you won’t feel better when your eyes are dry, throat scratchy, lookin’ like klunk, Min.”

“If you’re going to be rude about it, you might as well leave.”

“We all knew it was a lost cause going in there, Minho, don’t tell me you thought he’d actually come back with us.”

“I don’t know, maybe,” Minho said quietly, his tears slowing down. 

“Would you?” Minho thought about that, long and hard. He knew he would rather die surrounded by friends, than die alone. In this case, however, the risk of causing those friends harm was so high, Minho didn’t think he would ever allow himself to go near them. Eventually, he shook his head.

Thao sighed, sinking to the floor beside him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, and pulling him closer. She pressed her lips to his temple, whispering quietly to him, “I love you.”

 

\--------------------------------

 

They spent two nights in the Berg, resting up and talking plans. None of them knew much about the city or had any solid connections. Their conversations always returned to Gally and the Right Arm. The Right Arm wanted to stop WICKED. And if it was true that WICKED might begin the Trials all over again with new Immunes, then the Gladers had the same goals as the Right Arm. 

On the morning of the third day since they left Newt, everyone had agreed upon a plan. They were to go to Gally’s apartment and start from there. There had been a little worry about what Newt had told them-- that some Cranks were planning to break out of the Crank Palace and go to Denver-- but there had been no sign of them from the air. 

Audrey’s leg was already back to normal, although if Minho watched close enough he could see her dragging the one foot sometimes. She hadn’t spoken much over the three days, and even though she showered and ate meals with the others she still didn’t look like herself. 

Everyone gathered at the hatch door once they had rounded up their things. 

“Let me do the talking again.” Jorge said.    


Brenda nodded. “And when we get in, we’ll get a cab.” 

Jorge pressed a button and the huge ramp of the cargo door started to pivot downward. The door had only opened halfway when they saw three people standing just outside the Berg.

Two men. One woman. Wearing the same metallic protective masks as Red Shirt back in the coffee shop. The men held pistols and the lady had a Launcher. Their faces were dirt smeared and sweaty, and some of their clothes had been torn, as if they’d had to fight their way through an army to get there. 

“What is this?” Jorge asked.    


“Shut your mouth, Munie.” one of the guys said, his mechanized voice making his words all the more sinister. “Now step down here nice and easy, or you won't like what happens. Don’t. Try. Anything.” 

Minho noticed that both gates leading into Denver were standing wide open and two people lay lifelessly in the narrow alley leading to the city. 

“You start firing that thing, hermano, and we’ll be on top of you like stink on dookie. You may get one of us, but we’ll get all three of you punks.” 

“We’ve got nothing to lose,” the man replied. “Give it your best shot. I’m pretty confident I’ll nail two of you before anybody takes a single step.” He lifted his gun a couple of inches and aimed at Jorge’s face. 

“Fair enough,” Jorge muttered, and put his hands in the air. “You win for now.” 

Minho rolled his eyes at Jorge, but raised his hands as well, “You guys better not drop your guard, that’s all I’m sayin’.” Thao nodded in agreement, raising her hands alongside his. Thomas walked down the ramp, Audrey following shortly after. The others came after, just as Thomas and Audrey had reached the van.

“One wrong move and bullets start flying,” The woman driving the van told them as they reached the van as well. Thomas and Audrey were already inside, and Minho climbed up next. He turned around and offered his hand to Casey, who gratefully accepted it. 

Minho weighed their odds, they definitely had more people, but the others had more weapons. He only had his two knives in her pockets, and he was sure that Thao had hers, but the chances were slim that anyone else had weapons on them, as they had not planned for combat. Minho wondered how well they would fair with a couple of blunt knives against a buttload of guns. Not well, he decided. 

“Who’s paying you to kidnap Immunes?” Thomas asked once they had all settled onto a bench in the back of the van. Nobody responded, and Thomas sighed, sitting back in his seats. Minho caught Thao’s eye and tapped his hip, just over one of his knives, asking her if she brought her own. She nodded. Of course she had, that was the first thing they grabbed before going into the Maze, it wasn’t something that she’d slip up on. 

The other guys clambered into the front of the van, after slamming the back door. They turned around, pointing their weapons at the group. “There’s a load of black hoods in the corner,” One of them explained, pointing the barrel of the gun towards the hoods. “Put ‘em on, don’t want you seein’ where we’re goin’.” Minho sighed, grabbing the hoods. He handed them out to each of the others, giving Thomas a long look as he handed one to him. Thomas sighed as he engine roared to life, and threw the hood over his head. 

Minho put his on last, innocently kicking his foot out to rest aside Thao’s. Just incase he needed to tell her to fight, he told himself as he threw the hood over his own head. The ride was just as rough as it had been in the bus after they escaped the Maze. Minho was jostled into Casey’s shoulder roughly, causing her to groan. 

“Sorry,” He muttered, resting a closed fist on her knee. He closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat. He moved his hand from Casey’s knee, throwing it behind his head. He bumped his foot against Thao’s a few times, obviously to make sure she knew he hadn’t evaporated into thin air. 

When the side door of the van opened after what seemed like forever, Minho was ready to tug off his hood and make a snarky remark.    


“Don’t do it.” One of the guys snapped. “Don’t you dare take those off until we tell you to. Now get out, nice and slow. Do us a favour and keep yourselves alive.”    


“You sure are a tough shank.” Minho said, deciding to still get in a snarky remark. “Easy to do when you’ve got six people with guns. Why don’t you--”    


He was cut off by a harsh punch to his gut, making him grunt and lean forward. After that the people yanked him back into a standing position before leading him away, so quick it was hard to stay balanced. 

They were led down a set of stairs and then down a long hallway. They stopped, and the sound of a key card swiping sounded, followed by the click of a lock and then a creak of a door opening. As it did, the murmurs of hushed voices filled the air, as if dozens of people were waiting inside. 

Minho was shoved forward, and nearly fell. He immediately reached up and yanked off the hood, as the door slammed closed. He did a headcount, relief filling him as he saw that Thao and Audrey were still with him, Casey and Thomas too. Jorge and Brenda were still there too. 

They were in a huge room filled with people, most of them sitting on the floor. Dull light in the ceiling illuminated the few dozen faces that stared back at them, some of them dirty, most of them scratched or bruised. 

A woman came forward, her face twisted by fear and anxiety. “What’s it like out there? We’ve been in here for a few hours, and things were falling apart. Has it gotten worse?” She asked.    
More people started to approach as Thomas answered. Minho instinctively moved closer to both Thao and Audrey, not wanting to lose them in the crowd.    


“We were outside the city-- they got us at the gates. What do you mean things were falling apart? What happened?”    


The woman looked at the floor. “The government declared a state of emergency, without any kind of warning. Then the police, the cop machines, the Flare testers--they all disappeared. All at once, it seemed. We got snagged by these people trying to get work at the city building. There wasn’t even time to figure out what was happening or why.”    


“We were guards over at the Crank Palace,” another man said. “Others like us had been disappearing left and right, so we finally gave up and came to Denver a few days ago. We got nabbed at the port too.”    


“How’d everything get so bad, so suddenly?” Brenda asked. “We were here three days ago.”    


The man let out a sharp bitter laugh. “The whole city is full of idiots thinking they’ve been containing the virus. It’s been a long and slow rumble, but it’s finally all exploded in our faces. The world has no chance--the virus is too strong. Some of us have seen this coming for a long time.” 

Minho zoned out, frankly, he didn’t care about what was happening in Denver, he just need to get them out of there. His eyes scanned the room, every face looking foreign and scared. He sighed, wondering if he could trust any of them. Then his eyes landed on a familiar face, and then another, and another, and another. 

“Aris?” Minho said, shell-shocked. Thomas whipped his head around as Aris, Sonya, Harriet, and Alexander stepped towards them. Aris reached them first, holding out his hand to Thomas. Casey wrapped both Harriet and Sonya in a huge hug. 

Aris stepped towards Minho, holding out his hand as well. Minho rolled his eyes and pulled the smaller boy into a hug. “Glad you’re alive, stick.” 

“You too, Shank,” Aris smiled as he pulled back. Minho looked around to see the other’s reuniting. Audrey had now pulled Aris into a hug of her own, smiling widely. Thao was talking to Alexander, eyes lit up, hanging on to every words he was telling her.

“Where is everyone?” Thomas asked, a few moments later.

“Most of them were taken by another group,” Harriet explained, shaking her head sadly.

“Yesterday, they were all captured, probably to be sold back to WICKED.” Sonya added, running a hand through her hair. 

“They got Fry,” Aris told them quietly, head hung low. Minho’s heart skipped a beat, fear gripping his stomach. 

 

\----------------------- 

 

Thomas had gone off to talk to Aris alone, and Minho and the others were sitting waiting for the two to finish the private chat. 

He finally walked back over and sat down next to Thao, looking around as everyone else stared at them.    


“Well? What’d he have to say?” Minho asked.

“He said the reason they escaped was because they found out WICKED plans to start all over again if they have to. That they were rounding up Immunes--just like Gally told us. He swears that somehow they were led to believe we’d already broken out, and that they did look for us.” 

Just then, the door to the room opened and three of their captors walking in with big sacks stuffed full of something. A fourth followed, armed with a Launcher and a pistol. He swept the room, looking for trouble, and the other started passing out what was inside the bags-- bread and bottles of water.    


“How do we always get into these messes?” Minho asked. “At least we used to be able to blame everything on WICKED.” 

“We still can.” Thao argued.    


Minho grinned. “Good. Those shuck-faces.” 

An uneasy silence settled on the room as the kidnappers moved around. People begun to eat. If the group wanted to keep talking, they’d have to be quiet about it. 

“Only one of them has a weapon,” Minho whispered, nudging everyone to get their attention. “And he doesn’t look so bad. I bet I could take him.”    


“Maybe, but don’t do anything stupid-- he’s got a gun as well as a Launcher. And trust me, you don’t want to get shot by either.” 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Audrey mumbled from Minho’s right side, looking over at him. 

“Yeah, well, you guys trust me this time.” Minho answered, as the kidnappers approached the group. 

They offered up the food, and Thomas took a roll and a bottle of water but when they offered it to Minho he swatted it away. 

“Why would I take anything from you? It’s probably poisoned.” He pointed out.    


“You wanna go hungry, fine by me.” the guy replied, moving on. He got to Audrey, before Minho leaped up and tackled the man holding the Launcher. It slipped out of the guys grip and discharged, sending a grenade up towards the ceiling, where it crashed in a display of lighting. The kidnapper was still on the ground as Minho started punching him, struggling to grab the man’s pistol with his free hand. 

Everyone else around him seemed to freeze, watching as the three other guards dropped to their bags to go after Minho, but before they could take a step they had six people on them, throwing them to the ground as well. Jorge moved to help Minho drag the guard to the floor and was stomping the man’s arm until he finally let go of the pistol he’d pulled from his belt; Minho kicked it across the floor, and a woman picked it up. Brenda had grabbed the Launcher.    


“Stop!” Brenda shouted, pointing the weapon at the kidnappers.    


Minho stood up, and stepped away from the man on the floor. People were already dragging the other three guards over to lie next to their partner, lining them up so that all four were on their backs in a row. 

“We have to get them to talk, we have to hurry before backup comes.” Thomas said.    


“We should just shoot them in the head!” a man called out. “Shoot them and get out of here!” A few others shouted their agreement. The group was turning into a mob, if the Gladers wanted information they would have to act fast. Thomas stood and made his way over to the woman with the gun and convinced her to hand it to him; then he turned and knelt beside the man who was handing out the bread to their group. Minho joined him. 

Thomas had the gun to the guy’s temple. “I’m going to count to three. You either start telling me what WICKED plans to do with us and where you were going to meet them or I’ll pull the trigger. One.”    


Minho was impressed with how fearless Thomas was being. The man didn’t hesitate. “WICKED? We got nothing to do with WICKED.” 

“You’re lying. Two.”    


“No, I swear! This has nothing to do with them. At last as far as I know.” The man begged, struggling in Thomas’s grip. Thao snorted, twirling one of her knives between her fingers, the other held against another kidnappers neck.

“Then why are you kidnapping immunes?” She asked, looking just as unimpressed as Thomas. 

“We work for the Right Arm,” The man pleaded, gripping at the arm Thomas had around his neck. 

“What?” Minho asked dumbly, it made no sense.

“What, what? I work for the Right Arm.”

“Then why are you kidnapping Immunes?” Thao asked. 

“Because we want to, it's none of your business,” The guy explained.

“Really? Because you’ve gotta a gun to your head, and your buddy over here has a knife against his throat.” Thao threatened, her knife drawing a small amount of blood from the other man’s neck. 

“Exactly,” Thomas agreed, pressing the gun harder into the man’s temple. “So either you tell me what the Right Arm wants with Immunes, or I’m going to assume you’re lying. I’m going to count to three once more. One.”

“I ain’t lyin’ kid.”

“Two.”

“You ain’t gonna kill me, I can see it in your eyes. Hers too.” He pointed at Thao who sighed and dropped the knife. Thomas did the same with the gun. Minho knew the pair wouldn’t have done it, but it made their bargaining a whole lot more difficult. 

He looked around the room at the others. Casey was sitting with Harriet and Sonya, staring wide-eyed at the blood Thao had drawn on the man’s neck. Minho knew Casey was not as excited about fighting as she pretended to be. He respected that. It was so easy to forget yourself when you’ve got a gun pointed at someone’s brain, and she didn’t want that. Minho didn’t want that for her either.

Ever since she was forced to hurt and kidnap Thomas, she had done everything she could to be nice to people, and to care for them. She was strongly on their side, however, and Minho knew she would fight alongside them when it came down to it, but for now he wanted to preserve her hope and innocence as long as her could.

“If you work for the Right Arm, then we should be on the same side. Just tell us what’s going on,” Audrey said from her place next to Aris. 

“You have ta ask the boss if you want answers, we don’t know a thing.” 

“How do we get the this boss?” Casey asked, watching as Brenda stepped closer to the man.

“I have no idea,” The man shrugged. The was the breaking point for Minho. He snatched the gun from Thomas’s hand, pointing it at the man’s foot.

“I’m tired of this klunk,” He told the man, safety off and finger on the trigger. He realised at this moment that his conscious was not as strong as Thao and Thomas’s and he could definitely pull the trigger at the man. “I ain’t gonna kill you, but I’m gonna blow your shuckin’ toe off if you don’t start talking in three seconds. One.”

“I ain’t telling you anything,” The man snarled, apparently still feeling brave. 

“Fine,” Minho pulled the trigger. He felt the backfire and saw the blood oozing out of the man’s shoe. A couple of the other guards ran to the man, trying to stop the bleeding. Thomas looked up at him in awe, and Minho felt a sense of some accomplishment was over him. They weren’t playing around anymore. 

“Someone starts talking now,” Minho spoke loudly, waving the gun around. “Or someone is going to lose another toe.” 

“We don’t know anything,” A woman stressed, looking at him angrily. 

“Do you really want to keep playing this game? I’m done counting.” He pointed the gun back at the man’s other foot, ready to shoot. 

“We could take a couple of you back with us,” One man rushed. Minho let the gun fall to his side. “I don’t know if they’ll let you talk to the guy in charge, but they might.”

“Alright then, “ Minho said, taking a step back and gesturing for the guy to stand up. “See, that wasn’t so bad. Let’s go visit this boss of yours. Me, you and my friends.” 

The room burst into a rush of voices. No one wanted to be left behind and no one was going to be quiet about it. 

The woman who’d brought in the water stood up and started yelling. The crowd went silent. “You people are a lot safer here! Just trust me on that one. If all of us tried to make it to where we’d need to go, I can guarantee half wouldn’t get there. If these guys want to see the boss, then let them risk their necks. A gun and a Launcher aren’t going to do a bit of good out there. But in here we have a locked door and no windows.” 

When she finished, another chorus of complaints filled the room. The woman turned to Minho and Thomas and spoke over the noise. “Listen, it’s dangerous out there. I wouldn’t take more than a couple of people. The more you have, the more likely you’ll be seen.” She paused and scanned the room. “And I’d go soon if I were you, From the looks of it, these people are only going to get antsier. Pretty soon there’ll be no way to hold them off. And out there…” She pursed her lips together tightly. “There are Cranks everywhere. They’re killing anything that moves.”    


Minho pointed the gun at the ceiling and fired, the noise of the crowd collapsed into complete silence. He gestured to the woman to continue.

“It’s crazy out there, It’s all happened really quickly. Like they’ve been hiding and waiting for a signal or something. This morning the police were overpowered and the gates were opened. Some Cranks from the Palace joined them. They’re everywhere now.”    


She paused, and Minho heard Audrey whisper “Newt” quietly off to the side.    


The woman countied on “I promise you don’t want to go out there. And I promise we’re the good guys. I don’t know what the Right Arm has planned, but I do know that part of it includes getting us all out of Denver.”    


“Then why are you treating us like prisoners?” someone yelled.    


“I’m just doing what I was hired to do.” The woman turned her attention back to Minho and continued. “I think it’s a stupid idea to leave this place, but like I said, if you’re going to, you can’t take more than a couple people. Those Cranks spot a big group of fresh meat walking around and it’s all over. Weapons or no weapons. And the boss might not like it if a crowd shows up-- our guards see a van full of strangers and they might start shooting.” 

“Brenda and I will go.” Thomas, being the idiot he is, volunteered himself.    


“No way.” Minho shook his head. “All of us.” 

“Brenda and I. We did pretty well for ourselves back in the scorch when we got separated from you. Thao should stay back to keep you in check.” Thomas argued back. 

“No way, man!” Minho disagreed. “We shouldn’t split up. All seven of us should go-- it’ll be safer!” Minho felt a little put out that Thomas didn’t want the rest of them to go. He was more put out that he only wanted Brenda to go with him. 

“Really, Tom?” Casey asked, eyebrows raised. “You want to go off on your own, with her, again?” Thomas looked sheepish, but Casey was right, it was very suspicious. 

There was a long, uncomfortable silence between the group. 

“Fine,” Minho spoke eventually, staring only at Thomas. “Go. But if you die out there, I will not be happy.” 

“Good that,” Thomas nodded, walking over to Casey and grabbing her hand. She looked away from him, trying to tug her hand back. “Hey, I’ll be back, I promise.” She nodded, but pulled her hand out of his.

“Go, your girlfriend is waiting for you,” She scowled, pointing at Brenda.

“Casey, she’s not my girlfriend, you know that. Hey, look at me.” He tilted her chin up with two of his fingers, causing her to look at him. She sighed, and Thomas pressed his lips to hers. “I’ll be back for you,” He promised, before turning and walking to Minho, taking the gun from him and following Brenda out of the room.

“Dumb shank,” Thao muttered, messing up her hair. Minho turned to say something to her, but froze as a tingling sense of fear started to spread through his body. A coppery taste hit his tongue as he opened his mouth. “Thay...” He breathed before blacking out.


	10. Audrey

Audrey watched Minho collapse to the ground, his body shaking with the convulsions. “Shuck,” She swore, running forward with Thao, both of them falling to their knees beside the boy. Casey was at their side a second later, looking panicked.

“What are we going to do? He’s like a walking time bomb, guys. We’ve got to get this under control.” She pointed out, sitting back on her heels. Audrey knew she was right. The chances of Minho having a seizure in the middle of a fight was too great. What if he had a gun in his hand when his fingers seized up?

There was something that felt too familiar with the scenes playing out before her.    


“Something’s not right.” She scooted back from Minho and looked between the door Thomas had walked out of and Thao. “This is too familiar.”    


“What do you mean? Is it like the mashed potato thing?” Thao asked, sparing Audrey a quick glance as she tried to help Minho.  

“Kind of. It’s too hard to sort it out, but this isn’t right.” Audrey explained, knowing that she was making no sense. “We should have gone with Thomas.”    


“Minho can’t go like this, and they probably already left.” Casey pointed out. 

“Something is gonna happen. Something I could stop.” Audrey insisted, wishing there was a better way for her to explain herself to them.    


“Are you sure?” Thao asked. “Are you absolutely sure you need to go after them?”    


“One hundred percent.” Audrey nodded, watching as Thao stood up and left Casey to deal with Minho.    


“Okay. Then we’ll go. Jorge and Casey can stay here with Min.” Thao said, before pointing to the woman who told them about the Crank attacks.“You, we’re going after them.”    


“Excuse me?” The woman said, as Audrey got to her feet beside Thao.    


“You’re taking us after our friends. Now.” Thao looked more serious this time, like she might actually seriously hurt someone if they disagreed.

“Wha--why?”    


“Because I’m like a bloody psychic or something.” Audrey sighed “And our friends are going to need our help.”    


Eventually they persuaded the woman to take them. They made their way down a long hallway before stopping at the door leading out of the building. 

“If you’re sure you want to go after them, we’ll have to take my car. Lawrence probably took your friends in the van. But we have to get there without being seen.” The woman told them, shaking a little bit.    


“Yeah okay, step one get to the car and lock the doors. Got it.” The three quickly made their way out the door and sprinted to the car, hopping in and locking the doors without any problems. Probably because the others had left just before them. 

“I’m Thao, by the way,” Thao spoke up from the back seat. Audrey glanced back to see she had one of her knives clutched tightly in her hand, and her leg was shaking like crazy.

“And I’m Audrey,” Audrey added, looking at the woman driving. 

“I’m Gemma,” She told them. “Look, I don’t know why you guys want to go after this kid, but you guys look like you’ve got a lot on your plate. With your brute force back there having seizures, your leader in the midst of a love triangle, and honestly you guys look like you’ve just lost someone. I’m going to help you two as much as I can.”

Audrey tried hard to ignore the words regarding Newt, but as they were spoken, her brain went funny again. She saw a flash of a piece of paper falling from Thomas’s hand. “Yeah,” She whispered, the memory fading away just as quickly as it had come. “Yeah we have.”

“Thank you Gemma,” Thao spoke up, watching Audrey carefully. “I know we aren’t making very much sense, but believe us when we say our goal is the same as yours. We just have really shucked up ways of getting there.”

Gemma drove them through the abandoned gates of the city. It terrifyingly empty. Only a week before, they were walking around the streets of this city as it swarmed with people. Now, there was no one. Not the slightest glimpse of a person. 

“I don’t think Thomas is in too much danger, if I’m going to be honest.” Thao admitted, staring out the window as well. Audrey turned to her, eyebrows raised. If Thomas wasn’t in danger, then what was her brain trying to tell her. 

“Thao, your friend just drove straight into a crank-filled city. There’s no way he’s not in danger.” Gemma told her grip tightening on the steering wheel.

“Thomas is the top of WICKED’s hit list. We all are,” Thao explained with a shrug. “Sure, WICKED wants him dead, but I can’t imagine they want it done any other way than execution style, by our favorite Assistant Director, of course.”

“Then what are we doing out here?” Gemma asked, clearly confused. Audrey opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when Gemma slammed on the breaks. Audrey threw her arms out to stop herself from crashing into the dashboard. In front of them were about two dozen Cranks, walking towards them with various weapons. 

“Shit,” Gemma cursed, throwing the car into reverse. “This thing ain’t got bullet proof glass like the van.” 

“What do we do? We’ve got like two knives and a launcher.” Thao yelled, grabbing Gemma’s launcher from the back seat, and handing it to Audrey. “There’s about thirty of ‘em, we’ll never fight ‘em off.” 

“Do you know another way- oh shuck.” Audrey was cut off when Gemma slammed the breaks on again. Behind them were about ten more Cranks. 

“Shuck,” Thao yelled, tightening her grip on the knives. “Drive through ‘em!”

Gemma hit the gas again, and started to drive straight at the Cranks in front of them. A few were smart enough to duck out of the way, but the majority of them came at the car anyways. The first few hit the hood of the car, piling up and grabbing at the windshield. It was scary to see them up so close, with the bruises and scars. More than half of one woman’s hair was missing from the right side of her head, and it was covered in dried blood. 

Audrey shut her eyes and tried not to think about the Cranks outside and how Newt would eventually turn out like them, but it wasn’t working so great. 

“Drive faster!” She nearly begged Gemma, wanting to get away from anything Crank related as soon as possible. It hurt too much, and the guilt of not being there to say anything to Newt just increased whenever she thought about it.    


Gemma hit the gas as hard as she could, and soon they had gotten through the crowd. The car jerked over a few of the Cranks that had toppled down and under the car, and the ones on the windshield started to fall off. Gemma swerved the car around enough that eventually all they could see was the small mob of Cranks in the rear view mirror trying to catch up with the speeding car. 

“Everyone alright?” Gemma asked, slowing down once the Cranks were out of sight. The hood of the car was covered in dents and blood, and the windshield had multiple cranks all over it. Any more ambushes like that and they were dead.    


“Fantastic.” Thao snorted from behind Audrey, and it almost made her laugh.    


“Let’s just find the others… I don’t like that we all split up.” Audrey mumbled. “Minho was right, we should have stayed together.”    


“If you had, the Cranks would have got you for sure. Seven is too big of a group.” Gemma said, starting to repeat her words from before. 

“I still don’t like it. Nothing good ever happens when we’re all split up.”    


“Should I even ask?”    


“Probably not.”  Gemma sighed, turning another three corners before coming to a stop. “Lawrence was taking them here. If they’re not still in here, they’ll probably have an idea of where they went.” 

Gemma took the launcher back from Audrey, and slipped out of the car. Audrey did the same, feeling cool metal on the back of her hand as she shut the door. One of Thao’s knives. She gratefully took it, trying to put it in the waistband of her pants like she’d see Thao and Minho do so many times before. It nicked her skin and she winced. 

“How do you guys carry these around, all the time?” Audrey asked in a whisper as they made their way to the building in front of them. The wooden door was hanging off one of it’s hinges, over half the door was missing anyways. They entered the building, plunging into a darkness so thick Audrey didn’t think she’d ever seen again. 

“Reminds me of the tunnel before the Scorch,” Thao whispered, a few feet in front of Audrey. A click rang out, and the room was filled with a bright white light. 

“Gemma?” A familiar voice asked. Audrey blinked quickly, trying to let her eyes adjust. Thao beat her to it. 

“Gally,” She watched Thao run forward, pulling the boy into a hug. A man stood at Gally’s side, looking old and worn, though he was probably only in his thirties. “Have you seen Thomas? Or Brenda? They were with Lawrence.”

“I’m right here,” Came yet another familiar voice, and Audrey turned to find Brenda walking towards her. 

“Where’s Thomas?” Audrey demanded, something was definitely wrong, she just wished she could figure it out. The feeling of dread that was filling her veins was making it harder to concentrate. 

“He’s just left, he’s going to WICKED,” Brenda explained with a shrug. Audrey felt her heart drop, and Thao very clearly expressed all the obscenities that ran through Audrey’s mind.

“Was this your jacked idea, Gally?” Thao asked, furiously. “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter, how long ago did he leave?”

“About five minutes.” Gally responded, looking very tired. “They’re headed to the hangar.” 

“Thao,” Audrey whispered harshly, backing towards the door. She could  _ feel _ pieces sliding together in her brain. She was so close to figuring it out, but it wasn’t there just yet. All she knew was they needed to go after Thomas. Right. Now. “We gotta go now, come on.” 

Thao nodded and turned to Gemma. “You coming?” 

“No! This is suicide!” Gemma argued. Thao rolled her eyes, pulling her knife out. 

“Alright then Gemma, give me your keys, and you don’t have to come with us.” Gemma took a wary step back, like she was planning on running away. Gally stepped forward, wrapping one of his hands around her arm. 

“Keys.” He muttered harshly, giving her a shake. Gemma quickly grabbed the keys and threw them to Thao. Thao caught them, and Audrey led her out of the building. She hopped into the passenger seat, Thao sliding into the driver’s seat.

“You ever driven before?” Audrey asked as Thao started the car up. 

“I watched Gemma drive here. I just move this thing to “D” and press the gas. “R” goes backwards, and “P” parks.” Thao shrugged, shifting the car into drive and harshly stepping on the gas pedal. 

“You’re crazy!” Audrey yelled as they took off down the road. “First of all, do you even know where the hangar is?”

“Same place it was last week, hard to move,” Thao explained, shrugging. “Mapping.”

“You’re also crazy, because this makes no sense and you’re just following me aimlessly.” 

“I trust you, you’re my best friend, dude,” Thao explained, turning the car so hard that the back end skid out. “Besides, I’m pretty sure this has something to do with our Cranky blonde.” 

_ Did it? _ The pieces started to click together faster, finally forming a full picture. “Oh my God-” Thao slammed on the breaks. Twenty feet in front of them was a van parked in the middle of the road. In between them and the van was Thomas. He was lying on the ground, a Crank over top of him.  _ Wait. _ It was- 

She was out of the car in seconds, not even bothering to close the door behind her as she bolted towards the two people in front of her. At this exact moment, she was glad that she’d gotten so good at running. 

Newt looked horrible. His hair had been torn out in one spot, leaving a bald spot with red welts. Scratches and bruises were all over the side of his face she could see and his clothes were destroyed. His shirt was barely hanging on, and his pants were covered in blood and grime. 

“Now make amends! Kill me before I become one of those cannibal monsters! Kill me! I trusted you with the note! No one else. Now do it!” She could hear Newt screaming as she watched him press the gun in Thomas’s hand to his forehead. She pushed herself to run faster, wanting to scream but the words were caught in her throat. 

Eventually she had to stop and catch her breath, too caught up in her emotions to focus on running alone.    


Thao was at her side seconds later and looked confused. “It’s WICKED, the Crank part of Newt isn’t a Crank. It’s shucking WICKED.” She managed to get out before running at the two boys again, needing to stop them. 

“Do it before I become one of them!”    


“I…”    


“KILL ME!” Newt screamed, before his voice softened. “Please, Tommy---”    


Audrey didn’t let him finish, pulling Newt off Thomas as fast as she could. He looked shocked, and briefly confused, but Audrey didn’t care. She stared at him for a few seconds, the gun pressed against her own temple now.    


“Audrey?” Thomas mumbled to her right, and she looked over to see Thao pulling him to her side, whispering something in his ear.    


“I know what I’m doing” She huffed, turning back to Newt. He was trying to fight her off, and was screaming at her to get off of him. “Newt…”    


“Get off! Get off!” He screamed, growing more aggressive by the second. But it wasn’t him, it wasn’t his fault. He thought it was real. “Get off!”    


“Newt, it’s WICKED.” She tried, but he didn’t seem to really be listening to her. 

“Get the bloody hell off me!” 

“Listen to me then, damn it!” She screamed back, trying to get through to him. “This is WICKED. You’re immune to the Flare. It’s WICKED.” 

“Shut up, get off!”    


“No.”    


“Then kill me.” The words hurt, and she stared down at him as he kept struggling. His eyes were closed, and scrunched up. “Do it!”

“No.” She whispered this time, not wanting to be in a screaming match with him. “Look at me.” 

Newt glared at her when he opened his eyes, looking more pissed off and grumpy then she’d ever seen him. He didn’t say anything right away, and neither did she. 

“Do it.” He said, almost calmly now.    


“No. Because you aren’t a Crank. It’s WICKED.” She insisted again, not sure what else she could say to get him to believe her.     


“Get off!” He resorted back to that, thrashing around. “Just bloody kill me or get off.” 

“Stop!”    


“Kill me or I’ll kill you.”    


“Well then I guess you’ll have to kill me.” Audrey shot back. “If you don’t want to believe me, then it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Because you’re a Crank.” It was mean, and harsher than she ever intended to be, but he just wouldn’t listen. “Go on. All you have to do is pull the trigger.” 

He looked hurt for about a fraction of a second as he stared back at her, but he didn’t say or do anything. In fact, he stopped thrashing around, and just layed there looking up at her.    


“Go on, kill me. The past few days without you have been hell anyways. I couldn’t sleep, food lost it’s taste and all I thought about was you going crazy in a ditch somewhere without us.” She was crying, more like sobbing now but she couldn't stop herself. It hurt, everything hurt. “You want out of this you’re going to have to kill me, because I won’t let anyone else kill you.”    
“Why?” It was quiet, and she just managed to hear it. She couldn’t tell if it was Newt or WICKED, but at this point she didn’t care. 

“Because I love you.” His eyes flared again, before he slammed his eyes closed, banging his skull on the concrete underneath him.

“How do I get them out?” He asked in a small, broken voice. He let go of the gun, both of his hands gripping onto the side of his head, pulling at the hair. Audrey slid the gun towards the other two. She glanced over to them. Thomas scrambled forward, grabbing the gun, before Thao pulled him back into the awkward embrace they were crouching in. Audrey didn’t think she’d ever seen someone so distraught as Thomas looked right then and there. 

“The Right Arm, they can help us.” Audrey promised, placing one of her hands over Newt’s, easing it out of his hair. “You have to trust us though, okay? You can come with us, and we’ll get you fixed up, got that?”

“What if- what if I Crank-out again?” He cried, refusing to open his eyes. Audrey sat up, pulling the boy with her. She pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back carefully. 

“You won’t. I trust you,” She assured him. He nodded, burying his face into her neck, tears wetting his shirt. Audrey felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Thao. She smiled up at her, and together the pair helped Newt to his feet. 

Thomas stood off to the side, staring at Newt with a horrified expression. “Tommy, it’s ok-”

“No.”

“Tommy, I’m fine lo-”   


“It’s not okay,” Thomas shook his head, violently. 

“Tommy I asked you to-”

“I have to go,” Thomas whispered, walking towards the van. “I have to keep going, it’s all part of the plan.” He disappeared into the van, slamming the door as the driver took off. Audrey sighed, and the two girls helped Newt over to their own car.

The poor boy could barely step on his leg as they made their way over. Thao pulled the door open to the back seat, and Audrey slid in,before pulling Newt in after her. She did up his seat belt, before lifting his leg and setting it on her lap. She gently massaged the muscles there, pressing a kiss to his knee every so often.

Thao hopped into the driver’s seat again, and took off towards the building they had left Gally and Brenda in. 

 

\----------------------- 

 

“So can you guys help him or not?” Audrey asked, growing increasingly annoyed with the vague answers she was getting from Gally and a guy named Vince. She knew that the doctor who had helped them back in Denver fled, but there had to be some sort of other way to deactivate the thing.    


“We can try, but we have to be quick about it.” Vince said, leading them down a hallway and into a small office like room. Audrey stayed by Newt, but everything felt tense. It wasn’t as easy to reach out and hold his hand right now, even though that's all she really wanted to do. 

Instead she just sat beside him and waited for them to get WICKED out of his head.    


“Newt, if you would come with Gemma and I.” Vince said, gesturing to the door they’d just come in. “The rest of you can wait here. It shouldn't take long.”     


“No way.” Audrey protested, stopping Newt from getting up. “No offence but I don’t trust you. Either of you.”    


“What if I go?” Gally asked. “Gemma can stay here.”    


“Auds…” Newt whispered, making Audrey look over at him. “I’ll be fine.”    


"If Gally goes.” Audrey insisted, looking over to the former glader. Vince nodded, and Gally slung his arm around Newt, carrying him off with Vince.

“How are we getting the others back?” Thao asked, turning to Gemma. “Are they going to meet us here? Are we going there?”

“What’s the plan?” Audrey asked, turning to Brenda, who had remained relatively quiet until this point. 

“We’re going to blow WICKED up,” Brenda explained,turning to Gemma as well. “Listen, Jorge is back there, as are their friends, so if you want our help, we’re going to need to round ‘em up.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve already sent out vans to get them,” Gemma assured them. “All I want you guys to focus on right now, is your friend in there, take a rest, you look like you need it.” And with that, she walked off, leaving the three girls alone. 

They took a seat against the wall adjacent to the door they had taken Newt through. Brenda sat with her knees pulled up to her chest. Thao had her legs outstretched, and Audrey had hers criss-crossed. For a long time, no one spoke. 

“I’ll go first then,” Brenda sighed, dropping her head onto her knees. “I personally wish you guys were all back in the Maze. No offence, or anything, but times were simpler. I miss my little brother. And I feel like I’m getting in the way of Thomas and Casey’s relationship. I’m trying not to, but whenever I try to talk to him, it always looks so bad. I would hate me if I were Casey.”

Audrey dropped her head back against the wall, pressing down on her thighs. She was exhausted, and beyond worried about Newt. 

“I just watched my two best friends threaten to kill each other,” Thao started, closing her eyes. “Minho is having these seizures and they’re getting worse, and I know we’re going to blow up WICKED, but that’s the only place his medicine is. Min and I- I don’t even know. He sort of proposed, kind of, before we escaped WICKED. I feel like the two of us have never really been a real thing, even though I love him. And along comes Gally. I haven’t slept more than two hours in one night since the Maze.” 

“Well I just made my boyfriend hold a gun to my head and told him to shoot me. I don’t even know if I was serious or not, and that scares me. I also just told him I loved him, which, y’know, that’s a big deal. And on top of that, this whole thing might not end if they can’t get WICKED out of him. Who knows, they might end up killing him in there.” Audrey whispered, gripping at her hair just like Newt had only half an hour previously.

“And on top of that,” Thao snorted. “We’re leading a  _ buggin’ _ rebellion.” 

A few minutes later, Gally re-entered the room with Newt. Vince was right behind them, and Gemma beside him. Audrey almost instantly jumped to her feet, looking between Gally and Newt to try and figure out what had happened.    


“Well?” Thao asked, and Audrey was thankful at least one of them could form words. 

“All traces of WICKED’s mind control are gon--” Gally started, but didn’t get to finish. Audrey was pulling both Newt and him into a hug, most of the stress she’d had since the day started vanishing upon hearing the news. Not all the stress mind you, but enough to be happy for that fraction of a second.

“Thank god.” She muttered, letting go of Gally when he coughed uncomfortably. She didn’t really care though, because Newt was alive and not a Crank. And couldn’t be forced to impersonate a Crank anymore. 

“And you’re sure?”    


“Hundred percent. And we even tested to see if he was immune.”    


“Which I am.” Newt gave a small smile, and Audrey felt the corners of her mouth tug up a little. He was immune, and alive. And he just smiled a little.    


Thao joined the hug a few seconds later and Audrey was suddenly much more happy and optimistic then she had been before Newt entered the room WICKED free. The only thing that could have made this moment any better is if Minho were here too.  

They all pulled away after a few minutes. Gally had an arm resting on Thao’s shoulder, and she began to tell him excitedly about Alexander, who had confirmed that they were indeed, twins. Newt smiled down at Audrey, placing a kiss to her forehead. He opened his mouth to say something, but froze when he looked over the top of her head, mouth agape.


	11. Newt

Minho walked through the door wearing his signature smirk. Newt felt his eyes tearing up as he watched his best friend look around at their group, freezing as their eyes met. Minho’s mouth dropped open, looking confused. Newt took a small step around Audrey, “I’m Immune,” he whispered, taking a few more steps forward.

Minho walked forward too, and Newt could see the wetness in his eyes as well. They were really quite the pair. “I know I’m always tellin’ ya to cut your hair, shank,” Minho smiled as they met in the middle of the room, both of them falling to their knees. “But this half-bald look isn’t really doing ya justice.” Newt laughed at this. “Someone get some washcloths and bandages,  _ now _ .”

Minho reached a hand out, placing it on Newt’s shoulder. He gave Newt a giant smile, one that was so rarely seen on Minho’s face, and Newt’s heart filled with joy. He felt like klunk for yelling at Minho back in the bowling alley, leaving him with nothing but a passive thought of Audrey.

“Min, I’m so so shuckin’ sorry,” Newt whined as bandages and washcloths were dumped into Minho’s lap. Minho picked up a washcloth, lightly dabbing it against Newt’s scull. He winced. “Hurts like a mother.”

“Don’t be sorry Newt,” Minho sighed, cleaning the blood off Newt’s head. “It was WICKED, wasn’t it?” Newt nodded, tears pricking at his eyes again. He let a few fall from his eyes as he looked sadly up at Minho.

“I almost made Tommy shoot me,” He admitted, watching a few tears fall from Minho’s eyes. “Klunk friend I am.”

“Where is he now?” Minho asked, finally taking a bandage to wrap around Newt’s hair.

“Being Tommy, I s’pose.” Newt smirked at Minho. 

“Seriously, dude, you gotta let me try to style this for ya, it’s a disaster.” Minho laughed, pulling on the uneven strands on Newt’s long hair. Half of it reached his shoulder, and the other half was non-existent. He must look ridiculous. “And when was the last time ya showered, shank? Ya smell like Gally’s feet.”

“Hello, I am right here!” Gally reminded Minho. Newt felt himself laughing. Laughing at  _ Gally _ for Godsake. It was liberating to feel so alive again, until he remembered Thomas. 

“So where is Tomboy?” Minho asked again a few seconds later, looking around at everyone else.    


“He went on a mission for us. To help the Right Arm take down WICKED.” Vince answered. “Speaking of which, we should get you all ready to head out soon. You can shower, and eat up before be go, and rest on the way.” 

“Head out?” Audrey asked. 

“We’ll explain more on the go. For now let’s get you all ready to head out.” Vince responded, before leaving with room with the girl, Gemma.    


“Gally, do you know what they're talking about?”    


“Taking down WICKED once and for all.” He grinned, before heading towards the door. “C’mon I’ll show you to the shower, and the way to the kitchen.” 

Thao, Minho and Brenda all followed behind him rather quickly, and Audrey started towards the door before turning back to look at Newt. “Coming?” She asked when he didn’t show any signs of getting up. 

He nodded, before getting up and limping over to her. It was a better limp then before, Audrey’s little massage in the car had made it feel better than it had since before the Scorch, but the limp was something that was always going to be there.    


Everyone else was waiting for the two at the end of the hallway, but as soon as Gally saw them the tour of the place started up all over again.    


“You alright?” Audrey asked just before they fully caught up.    


“I think I will be, yeah.”  

 

\---------------

 

“Listen, shanks,” Gally sighed. They were all sitting around a few tables in the kitchen, freshly showered. “I know you guys ain’t gonna do nothin’ till you get Thomas back, but it ain’t helping us to just sit around, refusing to do anything until you get Thomas back.” 

Newt sighed, looking over at Casey who looked extremely disgruntled by Gally’s lack of motivation towards Thomas. “You just don’t care about him, Gally.” Casey muttered.

“If I didn’t care about the slinthead, where would you guys be now?” Gally asked, rolling his eyes. He passed the basket of bread down the table to Sonya. 

“Guys,” Thao spoke up from her place between Alexander and Minho. “I think what Gally’s trying to say is that we need to realise what we’re doing. I’m not saying we don’t do it, because you shanks know I’m going to be skipping in WICKED’s front door tonight, but we need to think about it.”

“Thao’s right,” Newt agreed, picking at the food on his plate. He had a surprisingly small appetite for the amount he had eaten in the last week. “They already know we’re coming. They’ve got Thomas, they know we don’t just abandon each other like that.” He looked around the table to find everyone staring at his sadly. He flushed, not meaning it like  _ that _ .

“I know how WICKED works guys. They’ll still have beetle blades watching us now. They monitor and record our every moves. Even if they don’t have access to our brains right now, they’re still monitoring us.”

“How do you know that?” Minho asked, eyes scrunched up in confusion.

“I may not have been completely honest about my third trial,” She sighed, messing up her hair and placing her metallic hand on Minho’s thigh. “Besides the point. We should act as soon as possible, because there is a fairly good chance they might not know Newt is back with us. My guess is they called the beetle blades out as soon as the Cranks took over.”

Newt nodded in agreement, having no recollection of any beetle blades since her arrived in Denver.

“So what’s the plan then?” 

“You’ll have to make one up on the move, we don’t have any more time to waste sitting around here.” Vince said as he entered the room. “Or you can sit around outside WICKED and wait for Thomas. I don’t really care.” 

The next thing the group knew they were being escorted, or crammed, into a van to set out after WICKED. With no plan on how to get in yet.    


“They must have some ideas of their own… right?” Audrey suggested, not seeming to be totally convinced herself. “I mean, who would go without a plan?” She squirmed in her spot next to the locked door, obviously uncomfortable with the current seating arrangement. 

“Idiots.” 

“Cranks.”    


“Quite possibly the Right Arm.” Everyone listed something off, sighing to themselves afterwards.    


“Anyone else think that this is a little bit of a tight fit?” Newt asked, hoping that they could figure out a better system to sit in. He was exhausted, but there was no way he could sleep when he was half sitting on Minho and squishing Audrey against the door. 

“You think they’d be able to spare more than one van.”    


“It’s the same as back in wherever they were holding us… The less vehicles on the road, the less chance we’ll run into any problems with Cranks past the Gone.” Brenda said. 

“She’s got a point.”    


“Doesn’t help the fact that we’re all jammed in here, sitting on top of each other.” Casey complained, squirming in her seat. 

“You said they had no idea Newt was back with you guys, right?” Alexander asked Thao, a thoughtful look on his face. She nodded. “And they have no idea that Sonya, Harriet, Aris and I are with you?” 

“No,” Thao shook her head. Newt was a little concerned with what her third trial had actually been, as was everyone else, but he decided that now was not the time.

“Then I think we could use this to our advantage,” He whispered, leaning his head towards the middle. The all lent in, trying to figure it out. “I’ve got a plan guys, it’s a really bad one, but unless you guys come up with a better one, this is all we got.”

An hour and a half later, they were pulling up to the side of some random road. It was only a twenty minute walk from WICKED, but as Jorge had explained, there was no surveillance of the area. They all clambered out of the back of the van, thankful for a bit of leg room. 

Newt winced as he slid out, his leg was killing him. As soon as he exited the van, however, his eyes lit up.  _ Snow _ . Newt knew he had seen snow before, but he had no memory of it. He picked a small amount up, it was cool to the touch.    


“You guys are sure about this?” Gally asked, distributing weapons to them all. He handed a launcher to Thao, but she tried to protest. “Knives are only good short distance, sweetheart.”

Newt sighed, he honestly hated this plan. He didn’t mind the idea itself, but having Audrey play such a vital, and dangerous role was killing him. What was worse, is that he knew she couldn’t have a single weapon on her. 

Another van pulled up, a few minutes later, carrying about twenty more people, all with the Right Arm. Vince pulled an old looking computer out of the van, and started to fiddle around with the security cameras for WICKED’s headquarters. 

Newt turned to Audrey, unable to contain the worry in his eyes. “I’ll be fine, shank.” She laughed, pressing a chaste, but sweet kiss to his lips. Minho walked up beside them, throwing an arm on each of their shoulders.

“The PDA between you two is really outstanding. It ain’t like she’s going to war or something.” Minho laughed, a bitter look on his face. Thao walked up behind him, a glint of something in her eyes. 

“You ready Audrey?” She asked, walking right up to Minho and slipping her hands under his shirt. Minho yelped in surprise. Newt laughed as he saw chunks of snow falling out the back of Minho’s shirt. 

This was it, he realized. Sure, they were going in there to get Thomas back, but honestly, both sides were lined up for war. A victor would be emerging today, and it was painfully clear to Newt that hundreds of people were going to die, especially with the Right Arm’s plans to plant explosives all over the building. 

A third and fourth van could be seen coming up the road. Newt knew that one of them was filled with more people, and the other contained the explosives. This was it. They were actually going into WICKED, not only to get Thomas back, but to take them down for good. And Audrey was leading them into it. 

“I love you,” He said quickly, turning to her. “God, I love you.”

She gave him a smile, kissing his cheek quickly before taking a deep breath. “I’ll see you in a bit.” 

She gave Thao a quick side hug, and smiled at Minho before she took off down the ice covered sidewalk. She turned to look back just before she rounded a corner, and gave a small wave before disappearing from view. 

“She’ll be alright.” Minho informed Newt, clasping his shoulder.

“Yeah, she’s got this.” Thao agreed, before turning to look at one of the computer screens. They’d be monitoring her the whole time, and shutting down WICKED’s outside camera’s once Audrey reached the door. 

Newt focused his attention on the little screen. Audrey was already putting on an act for them, tears filling her eyes. She’d even got her lips trembling, and the cold climate made it easy for her to keep her head down. She looked as if she was actually upset. 

“I hate this plan.” He muttered, looking away from the screen. “Why did she agree so quickly? Couldn’t we send someone else?”    


“Because her story was the most believable. WICKED thinks that she’s lost you. That’s enough reason for her to want to join them. It couldn’t have been anyone else.”    


“I still hate this plan.”    


“She’s there!” Harriet called, pointing to the screen.

Newt looked back at the screen himself, seeing a large set of glass doors in front of a overly sad looking Audrey. 

“Isn’t that David? From after the Scorch?” Casey asked, pointing to the man answering the door. 

“Doesn’t matter, let's head out!” Vince called, barking out orders. Newt sighed, throwing his gun over his shoulder and nodding at Vince. Vince handed Newt the computer, “Tap on the camera displaying what’s in front of us, then hit the big red button, for each one.” 

They quickly climbed into the van, Newt jumping in the front seat. Audrey and David were speaking, and Newt figured they had about five minutes before he needed to be inside WICKED. 

They reached the parking lot in three. Newt had shut off all the cameras that they passed under, and he quickly shut off the next one. He hopped out of the van, Minho and Thao by his side. He threw the computer onto the seat and took off running towards the side door. 

Newt glanced at the front doors of the building, watching Audrey talk to David, sobbing on her knees. He made sure that they ran out of sight of David, reaching the door in thirty seconds. 

Minho and Thao barged through first, launchers held at the ready. When they didn’t start shooting, Newt ran past them, and turned down a long hallway, getting into position. With any lucky, the rest of the Right Arm should be filing through that door, and WICKED wouldn’t suspect a thing. 

Newt heard David and Audrey speaking, their voices getting louder. “So you’re prepared to fight for WICKED?” David asked, their footsteps getting louder.

“Yes,” Audrey answered, her voice completely broken. “After seeing what happened to Newt, I am prepared to do anything to find the cure.” They were almost to Newt. He stood up, preparing himself to step out of the shadows.

“That’s excellent. Because, as you know Audrey-” The turned the corner and Newt stepped in front of them. David gasped, while Audrey smirked. 

“WICKED is good?” Newt asked mockingly. Audrey stepped forward, tucking herself under Newt’s arm.

“What, scared of a little Crank, David?” She taunted. Newt acted quickly, knocking David to the ground with one solid swing of his fist. The quickly scrambled over the unconscious body, grabbing his weapons, key card, and radio. If Vince had succeeded in turning off the proper surveillance camera, WICKED would still have no clue they were in the building. 

Audrey quickly wiped the stray tears off her cheeks. “Good punch. Let’s go find Thomas.” 

Newt nodded, grabbing her hand and pulling her back towards where the Right Arm and their friends were, leaving David alone in the hallway in an unconscious state. 

“That was some bloody performance you just pulled off.”    


“It was actually a lot easier then I thought it would be. It’s really simple to guess what WICKED wants to hear.” Audrey shrugged as they turned the last corner that would lead them back to the Right Arm. 

“You sounded like you were actually genuinely broken up about it.”    


“Until a few hours ago, I was.” Audrey mumbled, before shaking her head and obviously forcing a smile. “But that doesn’t matter now.” 

They reached Thao, Minho, Casey and the others before Newt got a chance to say anything in return, and Audrey let go of his hand the second they did rushing to high five both Thao and Minho. 

“Did ya get a good punch in? The shuck-face deserved it.” Minho said as he moved to stand next to Newt. 

“Yeah. It was pretty easy too. Single punch and he was out.” He nodded. 

“See? Plan worked out fine.” Gally said, walking up behind them. 

“You lot get it there,” Vince pointed the the Gladers and members of Group B that were there, and then to a room a little ways down the hall. “And we’ll figure the rest of this out.”

“No way!”

“No, we’re finding Thomas.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“You guys are an expendable resource to us, so either get in there, or I won’t be afraid to shoot you, seeing as I’m not really sure what side any of you are on.” Vince told them, barking orders at everyone else. Soon it was only them, Gally, and Vince left. “Now!” He barked. 

Newt pulled Audrey’s arm, and they all shuffled into the room. It wasn’t very big, but it wasn’t crowded enough for them to feel claustrophobic. The lights were off in the room, and no one seemed to be able to find a light switch.

“What the shuck is that guy’s problem?” Minho asked, banging his fist down on something metal.

“This is jacked. He’s just going to shove us in here?” Thao groaned, her voice coming from a similar place as Minho’s had. 

“Are they going to let us out before they blow the place up?” Casey asked in a small voice, not far from Newt. 

“Vince is right about one thing, though,” Newt spoke up, falling back against the nearest wall. “I’m not really sure what side we’re on, either. I’m fully aware we aren’t on WICKED’s side, but the Right Arm is out of line. There’s innocent people in here, and they want to kill everyone. I mean, the missing Immunes could be in here. We need to have our own side.” 

Everyone made a noise of agreement, and Newt was glad he didn’t have to deal with any arguments. 

“What comes after the Right Arm blows this place up?” Audrey asked a few seconds later, squeezing Newt’s hand.  

“I don’t know.” Newt answered honestly, hoping someone had a better idea than him.    


“We’ll figure it out.”    


Before anyone else had a chance to add on or explain, the door opened and two people slipped in before it shut again. 

It was Thomas and Gally. 

Minho was the first to them, pulling Thomas into a bear hug. Everyone else followed suit, welcoming him back with hugs. Casey’s hug lasted the longest, and Newt could hear Thomas apologizing profusely to the girl. 

When he pulled back enough, he sighed. “I can’t explain everything right now. We have to find the Immunes WICKED took, then find this back-door Flat Trans I learned about--and we need to hurry before the Right Arm blows this place up.”    


“Where are the Immunes?” Brenda asked. 

“Yeah, what did you learn?” Minho added.  

Thomas didn’t look too thrilled as he continued. “We need to go back to the Maze.” 

Newt felt sick, and his grip on Audrey’s hand tightened. Back to the Maze? He never thought he’d have to step foot in there again, especially after his third trial.

“Gally, Thao,” Thomas turned to them, holding out a folded piece of paper. Thao snatched it from him, reading it over in the dim light. 

“What’s it say?” Minho asked, walking over. Gally stepped in front of him, holding his hand up. Minho stopped and sighed, taking a step back again. Thomas held out another slip of paper, and Thao studied it for a moment. 

“Got it?” Thomas asked, looking at Thao. She nodded, and looked up at him. “Okay,” He took the second piece of paper back, stuffing it in his pocket. “So we’re going to go to the ‘X’. We won’t go through without you two, unless we absolutely have to, okay? We’ll go get the immunes. You guys get that stuff, and we’ll meet up again.”

Thao nodded, grabbing Gally’s arm and tugging him out of the room. “Wait!” Minho called out, stepping forward and grabbing her wrist. They stared at each other for a few long seconds. Minho placed his hand on the side of her face, pulling her forward and kissing her forehead. “Be careful, Shank.”

“Yeah, yeah, no need to be a sap.” Thao rolled her eyes running from the room with Gally. Newt quickly looked between Thomas and Minho, eyebrows drawn together. 

“Where’s she going?” Newt demanded, snatching the paper from Thomas’s pocket. It was a map of the compound. Newt quickly scanned it over, getting as much of it into his head as possible. Minho did the same. 

There was a blue circle on the map, around what appeared to be a storage room. Minho sighed, pulling at his hair harshly. “She went to get my meds, didn’t she?” 

“Sure did, Shank.” Thomas told him, taking the map back and stuffing it into his pocket again. “Now let’s go, we don’t have much time.” Newt placed a comforting hand on Minho’s shoulder. It was incredible how much those two shanks cared for each other. 


	12. Thao

“You sure you know where we’re going?” Gally whisper-yelled as they cautiously made their way down the corridor. The second they had excited the room they were in, Vince had turned his gun on them, preparing to shoot. They had quickly duck down the next hallway, exchanging panicked glances. 

“I looked at the map, I know what I’m doing,” Thao assured him, running  down the empty hallway.

“I don’t know how you Runners did it, I could stare at that map all day and still need a ‘you are here’ sticker.” Thao stopped them at the end of the hall, peeking around the bend. She cursed, pulling back to look at Gally.

“There’s a guard,” She whispered as quietly as possible. She looked at her launcher, and then at one of her knives, trying to decide which would be a better fit. The guard was about ten feet away, so the Launcher would probably be a more reasonable choice. Thao looked at her knife again, and threw the Launcher back over her shoulder. She had better aim with a knife anyway.

She placed her hand on Gally’s chest, warning him to stay still. He nodded at her, taking a tentative step back, while wielding his own Launcher. Thao quickly, but silently, stepped out from behind the wall. 

The guard had his back facing to her. She carefully adjusted her knife in her hand, bringing it back and preparing to throw it. It reminded her of the Maze. Sneaking around corners, prepared to kill anything that came in their path. Thao tried hard not to think of the guard as a person, but rather as a Griever.

She threw the knife, blade over handle, just as the guard turned to look at her. He barely had time to raise his gun. The blade pierced his skin, right where his neck met his chest. He froze, and fell to the ground, blood spurting from the wound. 

Thao rushed forward, Gally on her heels. She quickly grabbed the guard’s key card, a pen, and his radio, tossing them all to Gally. She grabbed the handle of the knife, pulling it out with a disgustingly loud squelching noise. Blood dripped off it, so she wiped it off on the guard’s shirt. Gally’s lip turned up, watching as the blade turned shiny once again.

“Let’s go,” Thao whispered, tucking the knife in her waistband again, before pulling Gally off down the hall. A few more turns, and they were standing outside the room.

“Oh no,” Gally groaned, surveying the door. 

“What?” Thao whispered, grabbing the key card from him, and moving to unlock the door. 

“We planted one in there. We have ten minutes until it goes off.” Gally informed her. Thao’s heart skipped a beat and she quickly unlocked the door. It unsealed, and the pair moved inside quickly.

It looked like an old laboratory. On one side of the room was lined with shelves of weird looking liquids and powers, all labeled with formulas. The other side was lined with incubators full of hundreds of vials with different color liquids. In the center of the room stood two tables. One of the was empty. The other had the explosive sitting on it.

“Don’t bump that table, whatever you do,” Gally warned. Thao nodded, pulling the letter from Ava Paige out of her pocket. 

 

_ Dear Thao, _

_ I was the one who created the serum to prevent Minho’s seizures from occurring, and I am the only person who knows how to make it. Therefore, I am providing you with the chemical equation to create it. There is two years worth of the medicine left in my laboratory. I want you to take it all.  _

_ Thomas will lead you to an escape, where you will find another three years worth of the serum. It is my greatest hope that all of you will live longer than five years, therefore you will find the chemical equation, along with the supplies list, in the fourth incubator. _

_ In this incubator, you will find all of the vials contain the serum. Make sure you take them all. When collecting the supplies, do not forget to grab as many syringes as you can. Under the table are two backpacks. One for you, and one for whomever you may bring with you to collect the serum. Collect the serum, and leave quickly. _

_ Ava Paige, Chancellor _

 

Thao quickly moved to the fourth incubator, opening the door to find numerous red vials. “Gally,” She whispered, pulling a sheet of paper out of the incubator, and handing it to Gally. “Collect everything on this list. Don’t forget syringes.” Gally nodded and walked over to the other side of the room, carefully not to knock the other table. 

Thao turned to look at the tables, spotting the backpacks underneath the one with the explosives on it. “Shuck,” She swore, turning back to the incubator. She hurriedly grabbed the vials, carrying them over to the empty table. Gally did the same with the supplies. He glanced at his watch. 

“These things start going off in five minutes, sweetheart, we gotta move.” Thao nodded, crouching down beside the table with the explosive on it.

“If I bump this thing, will it go off?” Thao asked, already knowing the answer. 

“Yes,” Gally told her. Thao sighed, reaching her hand out tentatively. The backpacks were not actually touching the table itself, but there was only about half a foot of space between the floor and the bottom of the table.

Thao breathed carefully, her body laying flat against the floor. She moved as quickly as she could. Her fingers brushed the edge of the backpack, and she inched it towards herself. Once it was finally free, she slid it to Gally.

“Put half of everything in there,” She told him, pulling the other bag out in the same manner. She didn’t have time to feel relieved about not blowing them both up, as they only had three minutes left. 

She quickly moved to the other table, putting half of everything into her own bag. When there was only one syringe, and one vial left, she grabbed them both. She stuffed them in the front pocket of her bag and pulled Gally from the room, with only a minute and a half to spare. 

“These things are gonna start going off,” Gally warned, running down the hallway behind her. 

“Gally, I want you to listen to me,” Thao stopped in the middle of the hall, pulling out the letter, and the pen she had stolen from the guard. She held the paper against the wall, quickly sketching out the map to where Thomas had pointed out their escape would be.

“We’re splitting up, aren’t we?”

“I need you to go here,” She jabbed at the escape with her pen. “We need at least one of us to get there. I want you to go through the Flat Trans, with Minho’s meds. I don’t want you to stop for anything. You get there and you be a shuck leader, because you know the rest of us; we are going to be the last ones through.”

“Thao,” Gally tried to protest, but Thao held her hand up, silencing him. He sighed, looking down at her. “You’re incredible, y’know that?” Thao felt herself blush, and quickly looked down. “I know I have no right to say this, but I love you. I always have.”

Thao looked up at him, sadly. She had always been the only one always able to see some sense behind Gally’s madness, and she knew that meant a lot to him. She stood on her toes, pressing her lips to his cheek.”Thank you for coming with me,” She whispered, pressing a small kiss to the corner of his mouth. 

A loud explosion rang out in the hall, and the wall exploded only fifty feet from them. They both yelped, staggering back from the explosion. “Go,” Thao yelled, running down a hallway, leaving Gally to escape. She pulled up the Map in her mind, trying to find her way toward the Maze. She skid around another corner, adjusting the backpack on her shoulder. 

She ran down the hall, feeling a chafing sensation on her right hip. She pulled her knife out as she ran, accidentally slicing into the skin. “Ah,” She gasped, looking at the blood on her knife. She continued to run down hallways, her skin burning as the cut rubbed against the material of her jeans.

The air exploded, and she felt herself flying through the air. She landed hard on her front, groaning in pain. Her ears were ringing loudly, and she could barely make out any noise. She heaved herself to her feet, wincing at the pain that spiderwebbed through her body. She pushed herself forward, running down the hall. 

She quickly turned a corner, knowing she would come out in a hallway running parallel. When she did, she found herself surrounded by people. She yelled, skidding to a stop. The others yelled as well, the ones on her left stopping in their tracks. The ones on her right kept running. 

She turned to face the ones who had stayed, ears ringing. The single light that was lit in the hall was blinding her. She couldn’t make out much of these people, but she could very clearly see the weapons being pointed at her chest.


	13. Minho

The group had left the office that Vince had stuffed them in a few seconds after Thao and Gally ran off. So far they had ran down a long hallway, turned a corner and gone down a flight of stairs. After that they took a shortcut through an old storage room, went down another long hallway. Down more stairs. A right and then a left. It was like being back in the Maze all over again, and Minho was surprised how good it felt. 

He stayed in the back of the group, making sure everyone else was following behind Brenda and Thomas. 

Suddenly there was a commotion from up head, and Minho ran past everyone to see Thomas on the ground, another person on top of him. Thomas was throwing punches and kicking like crazy, but the person wouldn’t budge. A few seconds later a woman screamed. 

The fight continued until Minho was able to get through the crowd enough to jump on top of another man, wailing on him even after the guy showed no resistance. All the worry and angry he felt towards Thao appeared in that one moment, and he just couldn’t make himself stop. She’d gone after his meds, instead of coming to escape with the rest of them. And he had to admit he was a little jealous that she took Gally with her instead of him.  _ Shank isn’t even a runner…  _

“Come on!” Thomas called, getting Brenda to lead the way again. 

“Minho, leave him!” Newt yelled. 

Minho threw another couple of punches for good measure, then stood up, giving the shuck-face one last kick.  “I’m done. We can go.”    


And then they were running again, no one asking any questions or turning back. 

They ran down another long flight of stairs and stumbled one by one into the room at the bottom. 

It took Minho as second to realize where they were. It was the chamber that housed the Griever pods, the room they were in after they’d escaped the Maze. He looked over to see Newt and Audrey holding hands tightly as they looked over the still shattered windows from the observation room. The glass was all over the floor. 

The forty or so oblong pods where the Griever rested and charged looked like they’d been sealed closed since the Gladers had come through weeks earlier. How many weeks had it been anyways? It felt like a lifetime ago. 

Brenda pointed out a ladder that led up to where they needed to go. They could have used a shucking ladder? Instead of the slimy Griever chute that they’d jumped down?

“Why isn’t anybody here?” Newt asked, turning in a circle and scanning the place. 

“Yeah.If they’re holding people in there, why no guards?” Casey added. 

“Who needs soldiers to keep them in when you have the Maze doing the job for you? It took us long enough to figure a way out.” Thomas pointed out. 

“I dunno. Something’s fishy about it.” Minho said, shaking his head. 

Thomas just shrugged, and pulled Casey to his side. It had been something Minho ment to avoid looking at. Every moment since his return, Thomas had been nothing but PDA with the girl. He thought Newt and Audrey were bad… but this was a whole new level. Apparently Thomas had a lot of apologizing to do for running off with Brenda, before ditching her and running off by himself. 

“Up we go.” Audrey shrugged, looking around at everyone else. “Who wants to go first?”    


Thomas started climbing without answering Audrey, and Minho followed behind Casey and Brenda. 

He pulled himself up into the room with the input stations were, watching Thomas frown at the station. Must be about Chuck… that poor shank. 

“Home sweet home.” Minho muttered, pointing at the round hole above them. It was the Cliff, but it looked much different now. Back when the Maze was fully operational, holotech had been used to conceal it, to make it look like part of the fake, endless sky beyond the stone edge of the drop-off. 

“I can’t believe we’re back here,” Casey said, leaning into Thomas. He nodded in agreement and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. 

“Crazy, huh?”    


“Don’t you think we better get up there?” Brenda asked. 

And this time, Thomas insisted upon going last. Minho went before him, pulling himself up and out back into the Maze.    


It was different now though. Or at least it felt different. The once blue and bright sky was just a dull grey ceiling. The holotech off the side of the cliff had been completely shut down, and the once-vertigo-inducing view had been transformed into a simple black stucco. 

The only thing that was still hauntingly the same where the massive ivy covered walls that were towering over the group. They were green as ever, and looked the same as the day they’d gotten the hell out of there. 

Minho took the lead this time, because this was something he had done for two years. And it meant no one could say anything to him as he ran, avoiding questions about Thao and what the hell that beating was about. Okay… So really he was trying to avoid Audrey. 

When they turned the final corner that led to the wide corridor outside the East Door of the Glade, visions of the night that Minho, Thao, Thomas and Alby spent out in the Maze popped up. They’d lost so many people since then, and that night spent trying to save Alby had been for nothing. 

They reached the huge gap in the walls that made up the East Door, and Minho slowed to wait for everyone else to catch up. He looked over the Glade in awe. 

There were hundreds of people milling about the Glade. Even a few babies and small children were scattered among the crowd. WICKED had taken babies. 

It took a moment for the murmurs to spread across the sea of Immunes, but within seconds every eye was trained on the new arrivals and utter silence fell upon the Glade. 

“Did you know there were this many?” Minho asked, turning to look at Thomas.    


“And that there would be such little kids? Or babies?” Audrey asked. Newt slung his arm over her shoulders, pulling her to his side. 

Thomas seemed zone out, because he didn’t respond at all.    


“Hey, daydreamer.” Minho snapped his fingers. “I asked you a question.” 

“Huh? Oh… There’s so many--they make the place look smaller than it ever did when we were here.” 

Their friends all came running towards them seconds later. Frypan. Jeff, the other Med-jack. A few people from Group B that Minho didn’t know the names of yet. 

“Can you believe they put me back in this place? They wouldn’t even let me cook, just sent us a bunch of packaged food in the Box three times a day. Kitchen doesn’t even work, no electricity. Nothing.” Frypan told the group after the short burst of reunions and hugs. 

Thomas laughed. “You think you were a lousy cook for fifty people? Try feeding this army.” 

“Funny man, Thomas. You are a funny man. I’m glad to see you.” Frypan smiled, before turning to Minho. “Where’s Thao?”    


“With Gally. They’re meeting up with us later, don’t worry.”    


“Gally? Gally’s here? Gally’s alive?” 

“Long story. He’s a good guy again though, don’t worry.” Thomas explained shortly. 

“Yeah, that’s enough catch up for now. How in the world are we going to do this, dude?” Minho asked Thomas, looking at the crowd again. 

“Shouldn’t be too bad.” Thomas said. 

“Don’t feed me that klunk.” Minho rolled his eyes. 

“Okay…” Thomas said, shaking his head as he looked over the group. They had to find an effective way to funnel all these people not only through the Maze itself, but then all the way through the WICKED complex to the Flat Trans. 

“What’s the plan?” Audrey pushed. 

“Okay, let’s split them into groups.” Thomas suggested. “There’s got to be four to five hundred people, so….groups of fifty. Then one Glader or Group B person can be in charge of them. We’ve got to get to this maintenance room.” He showed them the map from his pocket, and everyone nodded. “I’ll help move people along as Brenda and Jorge lead the way. Except Minho, Newt, Casey and Audrey. I want you guys to cover the rear.” 

“Sounds good to me.” Minho shrugged.    


“Whatever you say, muchacho.” Jorge added.    


“Okay, let’s get going.” Audrey insisted.    


The next twenty minutes was spent dividing everyone into groups and getting them into long lines. They paid special attention to keep the groups even in terms of age and strength. The Immunes had no problem following orders once they realized the new arrivals had come to help rescue them. 

Audrey had even discovered that she could speak another language, one with her hands. Apparently this little girl was deaf, and no one had been able to communicate with her. Minho had tried handling it by picking the girl up and carrying her to the line, but she just latched onto him every time he tried to leave her. Eventually he turned to Audrey for help, and her talent was discovered. 

They decided then that the girl would go with the first group out, hanging out with Jorge. Audrey explained this to her, and the girl nodded happily. 

Once everyone was organized into groups, the Gladers lined up in front of the East Door. Thomas waved his hand to get everyone’s attention.    


“Listen up!” He yelled. “WICKED is planning to use you for science. Your bodies-- your brains. They’ve been studying people for years, collecting data to develop a cure for the Flare. Now they want to use you as well, but you deserve more than a life as lab rats. You are-- we all are--the future, and the future isn’t going to happen the way WICKED wants it to. That’s why we’re here. To get you out of this place. We’ll be going through a bunch of buildings to find the Flat Trans that’ll take us somewhere safe. If we’re attacked, we’re going to have to fight. Stick with your groups, and the strongest need to do whatever it takes to protect the---” 

Thomas’s last words were cut off by a violent crack--like the sound of stone splintering. And then, nothing. Only an echo bouncing off the enormous walls.    


“What was that?” Minho yelled, looking around to try and find the source. The walls of the Maze were raising up, but nothing was out of place. Another crack sounded, then another. A thunderous din of rumbling crossed the Glade, beginning low and increasing in depth and volume. The ground started to tremble, and it seemed as if the world was going to fall apart. 

People turned in circles, looking for the source of the noise, and Minho could tell it was only a matter of seconds before panic broke out. The ground shook more violently; the sounds amplified--thunder and grinding rock-- and now screams erupted from the mass of people standing in front of them. 

“The explosives!” Thomas yelled.    


“What?” Someone else called.    


“The Right Arm!” 

A deafening roar shook the Glade, and Minho looked up to find a large portion of the wall to the left of the East Door had broken loose, great chunks of stone flying everywhere. A huge section seemed to hover at an impossible angle, and then it fell, toppling towards the ground.    


There wasn’t even time to shout a warning before the massive chunk landed on a group of people, crushing them as it broke in half. Everyone froze for a moment, as blood oozed out from the edges and pooled on the stone floor. 

The wounded screamed. Rumbles of thunder and the sound of rock fracturing combined to make a horrible chorus as the ground beneath them continued to shake. The Maze was falling apart around them.    


“Run!”    


Sonya took off and disappeared into the corridors of the Maze, the people in her group following after her. 

“Minho! You, Newt, Audrey and Casey bring up the rear like we planned. Brenda, Jorge, get to the head of the pack. Go!” Thomas barked orders, making lines of people follow each other out in as orderly of a fashion as he could make them under all the panic and chaos. 

Everything after that blurred. Minho knew eventually the whole roof would collapse, and he wasn’t going to let anyone stick around long enough for that to happen. There was lots of shouting and running and dodging flying pieces of rock chunks, but somehow they made it down the Cliff and out of the Maze arena.    


Minho was the last one down, and people were just finishing ducking out of the observation room as he planted his feet on the ground.    


“What’s going on? How many made it?”    


“Dunno, a good hundred at least. Probably more.” Newt said, jogging out the room after the last few people disappeared from view. 

“Where’s Thomas?”

“Checking up front.” Audrey answered, jumping slightly as a bomb sounded off somewhere in the distance. 

Soon people were running up the stairs, making the group on this level fewer with each passing second. Thomas came back down to join them as the last few Immunes followed the others up the stairs.    


“It’s just up the stairs, through a door, down a hallway, left and then right, up more stairs and one more hallway before down some stairs.” Minho heard him scream as another bomb jolted the whole building. They paused for a moment, steadying themselves before running again. 

A figure ran out from a hallway, skidding to a halt in front of them. They stopped as the rest of the group kept running. Minho immediately raised his weapon, pointing to at her. The second she turned to face them, he threw the weapon to the side, running forward and taking Thao into his arms.

“You slinthead,” He mumbled into her neck, holding her as tightly as he could. “Don’t you ever do something that stupid again.” She hugged him back just as tightly, pressing kisses to the side of his face.

“And you two tell us to back off the PDA,” Newt laughed from behind him. He pulled back, putting his hands on Thao’s shoulders.

“Where’s Gally?” Thomas asked, leaning forward and catching his breath. Thao tugged off her backpack before answering him.

“I sent him to the Trans, figured it would be good to have someone level-headed through there, just in case our shuck-asses don’t make it.” She explained, unzipping the front pocket of the bag and pulling out a red vial, and an unopened syringe.

“We don’t have time, we need to go.” Minho argued, but Thao only shook her head.

“What we don’t have time for is a seizure,” She countered, holding the now filled syringe in the air and grabbing his arm. “Here,” She carefully poked it into the vein, just like she had done so many times before in the Maze. As soon as the liquid entered his body, Minho felt a thousand percent less jittery. 

They followed Thomas to the maintenance room after that. moving as fast as they could. Several more bombs had detonated, each one closer than the one before it. But nothing strong enough to stop them, and now they had practically made it.    


The maintenance room was situated behind a large warehouse area. Neat rows of metal racks full of boxes lined the right wall, and nearly everyone had made it through the Flat Trans. There were about sixty people left waiting their turn. They were all going to make it, as long as they were quick enough.    


Another explosion rattled the walls and the metal racks. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling.    


“Hurry!” Thomas yelled.    


“The explosions are getting closer. They better be quick about it.” Minho huffed “The whole place is gonna fall down.”    


“I know, We’ll all be out of here in a----”    


“Well, what do we have here?” A voice shouted from the back of the room.    


A few gasps sounded as Minho turned around with everyone else to see who’d spoken. The Rat Man had just come through the door from the outside hallway, and he wasn’t alone. He was surrounded by WICKED security guards. There were seven total, which meant the Gladers still had the advantage.    


Janson stopped and cupped his hands to shout over the rumble of another explosion. “Strange place to hide out when everything’s about to come down!” Pieces of metal fell from the ceiling, clattering to the ground. 

“You know what’s here.” Thomas yelled back. “It’s too late-- we’re already going!” 

Rat Man pulled a knife and flashed it, and as if on cue the WICKED guards revealed their own similar weapons. 

“But we can salvage a few” He said. “And it looks like we have the strongest and brightest right here in front of us. Even our Final Candidate, no less! The one we need most, yet who refuses to cooperate.”    


The Gladers all exchanged a look before spreading out in a line between the dwindling crowd of prisoners and the guards. They took their weapons out, and if they didn’t have one they picked up anything on the ground they could use; pipes, long screws, the jagged edge of metal grid.    


“I’ve never seen such a menacing bunch of thugs!” The Rat Man yelled, but his face was crazed, his mouth controlled into a wild sneer. “I have to admit I’m terrified.”    


“Oh my gosh. He has the Flare.” Audrey said from beside Minho. He doubted anyone else heard, since she hadn’t yelled it. But she was right, dude was acting completely mental. 

“Just shut your shuck mouth and let’s get this over with!” Minho shouted back at him.    


“Gladly.” 

“Go!” Thomas shouted, and the two groups charged each other, their yells of battle drowned out by the sudden concussion of detonating explosives that shook the building around them. They rushed forward, crashing into the other line.

Minho let out something resembling a battle cry as he plunged his knife into the man’s gut in front of him. He felt the tissue ripping around the blade, and his hand connected with the man’s bloody flesh as the handle pressed up against the wound. The man let out a cry, slumping forward as Minho twisted the knife. 

Minho ripped the knife out, plunging it into the man’s stomach again. The cry was feebler this time, but Minho couldn’t bring himself to stop, not until the man was dead, at least. He was completely numb to any and all emotions. He pulled the knife back, and the man fell to the floor, dead.

He turned around, wildly looking to his friends. Newt had a man pinned underneath him, and was wailing on his face. Minho called out to him, tossing him his other knife. Newt caught it easily, gripping it with two hands and plunging it into the man’s chest. Four times he repeated the action, though Minho was sure the guy was dead after the first hit.

Audrey looked to be having a sword fight with a pipe she had found on the floor, swinging it at furiously at the guard whenever he tried to near her, and she was aiming at his head. The guard couldn’t really get close enough to her unless he wanted to end up on the ground a few seconds later. She was using the sword lessons Minho had given her back in the Scorch to her advantage. Eventually she knocked the guy out. 

Casey was pinned underneath a man who was about four times her size. She was kicking and punching at him, struggling to get him off. She seemed to have lost her weapon, and it was a losing battle. Minho ran over to her, roughly kicking the guy in the skull. He slumped over onto the floor, blood appearing at the sight on impact. Casey scrambled out from underneath him, looking around at the others.

Thao was no longer fighting, instead she was standing beside the bloody mass that used to be a man. He had long, deep cuts covering his body, blood dripping all over the floor. If Minho could feel emotion, he would have been thoroughly disturbed at the knife sticking of of the man’s temple.

Casey ran over to Thomas, grabbing at his shoulders. He was over top of Janson, squeezing his throat tightly. His eyes were lit up like he had the Flare, and honestly, Minho felt the same. 

“He’s dead!” Casey yelled, pulling Thomas’s hands away from Janson. The pair fell backwards. Casey wrapped her arms around Thomas’s body, while he breathed heavily. Minho looked around at the mess they’d made. There were so many bodies, so much blood, it was straight up murder. 

Everyone eventually got to their feet, realising all of the Immunes had gotten through the Flat Trans. The world around them continued to explode, ceiling and walls collapsing in every direction. 

Minho watched as Newt grabbed Audrey and tucked her under his jacket, shielding them both from the falling debris. Thomas grabbed Casey’s hand, and the six of them began to run down the hallway toward the maintenance room. 

Minho pulled Thao toward him, the pair of the narrowly missing a large, falling pipe. Left and right he watched as his friends tripped and fell, before being hauled back to their feet by someone else. Minho felt his foot catch on debris, and he fell to the floor, hands and knees scraping against concrete. 

Thomas was there in a millisecond, yanking him to his feet. They kept running, barely able to make each other out through the smoke. Minho watched in horror as a large chunk of the ceiling broke loose over Thomas’s head.

“Thomas!” He screamed as it plummeted downwards. Casey appeared out of the smoke, roughly pushing Thomas to the side. He tripped and fell, but was out of the way of the chunk of ceiling. 

Everything was in slow motion as he watched the chunk fall on top of Casey’s body. He screamed in agony, the numbness slipping away and all his emotions flooding back at once. He ran to the other side of the rock, Newt at his side. Thomas crawled forward to where Casey’s head and arm were sticking out. 

Minho grabbed the rock, Newt mirroring his actions, preparing to lift the rock. “Stop,” Thao screamed over the chaos. “She’ll bleed out!” Minho stumbled back, watching in horror as Thomas held Casey’s hand, and her face, apologizing profusely.

Minho felt a sob rip through his body before he could even comprehend anything. Sweet, beautiful, innocent Casey was dying, if not already dead. Thomas was screaming, desperately trying to push the chunk off of her. 

Minho turned to Audrey and Thao. “Go,” He yelled, running forward with Newt and wrestling with a wild Thomas. “We’re right behind you!”

He watched the girls exchange a quick nod before stumbling towards the Flat Trans, looking back to see Newt and Minho pulling Thomas to his feet before hopping through the wall together.    


Minho threw one of Thomas’s arms around his shoulder and heaved the boy up more as Newt and him hauled ass towards the icy gray wall. A fire had started burning in a gaping hole left by the explosion--- smoke billowed and churned with the thick dust.    


Another resounding boom shattered the air, and Minho looked back in time to see the back wall of the storage space exploding, falling to the ground in pieces, flames licking through the open spaces. The remainder of the ceiling above it began to collapse, any support now gone. Every last inch of the building was coming down once and for all. 

If they didn’t make it to the Flat Trans in a few seconds, they’d all be dead. The sounds of things crashing and crumbling behind them grew impossibly louder, cracks and creaks and squeals of metal and the hollow roar of flames all rose to an unimaginable pitch, pushing the three to move faster. 

Once they all stood right in front of it, together they jumped into the icy grey wall. 

Emerging on the other side of the Flat Trans was different from when it had brought them into the dark hallway in the Scorch. 

Thomas was still a mess, coughing, spitting and hyperventilating all at once. Brenda was there, and the Flat Trans disappeared behind the boys, before she ran off to do God knows what else. 

Audrey and Thao were there in seconds, joining in on the group hug that Minho and Newt had enforced on Thomas in an attempt to calm him down. No one moved or said anything for a long time. In fact, it wasn’t until half an hour or so later when Brenda returned that anyone made any effort to move from their spot on the ground. 

“I’m so sorry. About Casey. About everyone really.” She sighed, closing the door of the shed they’d come out of behind her as it became engulfed in flames. 

Minho thought Thomas would freak all over again, because, hell Minho would have given the situation. But instead, Thomas wiggled his way out of the group hug and nodded.    


“Thanks. Just making sure?” He asked, pointing to the shed.    


“Just making sure.” She conformed. 

That moment was the first chance Minho had to see what the world they had literally jumped into looked like. It was lush and green and full of vibrant life. They were at the top of a hill above a field of tall grass and wildflowers. The two hundred or so people they’d rescued wandered the area, some of them actually running and jumping. To the right, the hill descended into a valley of towering trees that seemed to stretch on for miles, ending in a wall of rocky mountains that jutted towards the cloudless blue sky. About a mile or two into the forest, a building’s roof poked out over the trees, and it looked like a small clearing of trees circled around it. To the left, the grassy field slowly became shrub brush and then sand. And then the ocean, its waves big and dark and white-tipped as they crashed onto the beach. 

Paraside. They’d come to paradise.     


“I think we should all turn in for the day…” Newt mumbled quietly, pulling Audrey closer to him as they both looked around in awe. “We can see what this place has to offer tomorrow.” 


	14. Audrey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final Chapter! Let us know what you guys thought! We may be posting a few one shots we wrote for this series as well!  
> -A & K

After sleeping on either a bed or a couch for just over a month, Audrey found the ground painful uncomfortable. She had tossed and turned all night, the feeling of rocks and sticks attacking her back was beyond painful. She managed to get a few hours total, mostly into the early hours of the morning. 

When she awoke, she rolled over, reaching for Newt, but her hand only came in contact with the cold grass. She opened her eyes, peering at her watch, which was surprisingly still functional after all this time. It read 6:45, which was way too early to be awake for her, or the rest of the Immunes. For a bunch of Runners, however, this would have be considered a hefty sleep in. 

Audrey sat up, rubbing at her eyes. She peered around at the scenery, taking in it’s beauty. She looked towards the ocean, noticing four figures sitting atop a cliff. The waves crashed against the rock, making the figures look small and delicate. She climbed to her feet, quietly stretching, before trudging over to the group.

Thao and Thomas sat with their feet hanging over the edge, leaning back on their hands and looking at the sky. Minho sat behind Thao, every so often pretending to push her off the edge. Newt lay on his back, his shuck leg propped on Minho’s lap, staring at the ocean. 

She approached them, wordlessly sitting beside Thomas and pulling Newt’s head into her lap. “Get any sleep?” Newt asked once they had all settled again. Audrey shook her head, watching the waves crash into the rock below them.

“Only a few hours,” She shrugged,threading her fingers through his hair. 

“That’s more than the rest of us got, you lucky Shank,” Thomas murmured in a small, scratchy voice. 

“Sorry we disappeared, you looked comfortable, but the rest of us haven’t slept past five thirty as far back as we can remember.” Newt explained, playing with a blade of grass between his fingers.

“That’s alright,” Audrey looked down at Newt, providing a small smile. “Do we have a plan?” 

“Anyone who wants to help us check that building can come help, anyone who doesn’t, can stay here till we figure out if we can live in it,” Minho told her. “Should probably make sure everyone is up in an hour or so.”

“They’re going to be hungry, cranky, and sore,” Thao said softly.

“I sure hope they aren’t Cranky, or else we’ll have ta dump ‘em off this cliff.” Thomas said, with something closely resembling humor. 

“I still can’t believe all that klunk is behind us now.” Audrey shook her head. “I mean, not completely but no more WICKED trails. Or fake rescues. Or fighting for our lives.” 

“Would’ve been nice if we’d been able to snag enough food for breakfast though… even if it was just for the five of us.” 

“We’ll find something. Hopefully enough of something to feed everyone.”    


“Do you think everyone will expect us to take charge? I mean, we lead them all here.”    


“Maybe until we settle in. Then the older shanks will take over. That’s my guess anyways.” 

“What’s the plan? To get ourselves settled in?” 

“Organize food search parties, a building committee if that place turns out to be unlivable, a security detail. Get things up and running, just like back in the Glade. Hopefully we’re isolated enough here that we can feel safe… it’ll just take some getting use to.”

 

\----------------------------- 

 

After waking everyone else up, they’d managed to put together a small team to go check out the building a mile of two away from them. Turns out not a lot of people were that interested in the building, but would rather go swimming in the ocean or hang out on the beach. 

By the time they started to head out, just the some Gladers and Group B were left. More specifically it was Audrey, Newt, Minho, Thao, Thomas, Frypan, Gally, Aris, Sonya, Harriet and Alexander.    


Jorge and Brenda had originally planned on coming, but the rest of the Immunes wanted some of the ‘saviours’ to stay around in case something went wrong. No one really complained much. 

“Please tell me we aren’t planning on running there. I think I’ve done more than enough running for the next five months or so.” Audrey said as they headed away from the now crowded beach area. 

“Well, I wasn’t planning on it, but now that you mention it,” Thao smirked, grabbing hold of Thomas’s wrist. “Race ya!” The pair took off running, Minho and Aris chasing them. Audrey shook her head, sliding her hand into Newt’s. 

She knew it was going to take them all a long time to recover from everything that had happened, Casey especially. She also knew they were all going to be there for each other, when they needed it. Right now, Thomas needed their affection turned to him, and she was more than willing to show her friend that he was loved.

They caught up to the others a few minutes later, peering up at the building. It was three stories tall, with symmetrical windows paced every ten feet or so. It was made of a white stone, and the walls were rounded, creating a cylindrical shape. In front of them stood a large pair of metal doors.

“This place looks depressing as klunk,” Minho said, opening the doors.

“We can liven it up a bit.”  Sonya assured them, stepping through the doors first. Thomas followed next, and soon they were all inside. It was definitely a WICKED compound. Audrey could tell by the familiar bleakness of the walls, and the rows of doors that lined the halls. 

Each of the doors had a gold plaque on the wall beside it. Audrey walked up to the first one, examining it carefully.

**ALBY CALLIER (JAMES)**

Audrey ran her fingers along the plaque, breath catching in her throat. Newt appeared beside her, pushing the door open. It was plain, to say the least. The bed was covered in a white sheet, with a white pillow. There were no creases in the sheet itself, which was very orderly, and very Alby. One side of the room had nothing, except a desk, with a chair, and a blank piece of paper. The other side was just as empty, for it only held a white dresser. On the beside table were two photo frames. 

Newt entered the room, sitting down on the bed, and snatching the dusty frames up. The rest of them entered, gathering around to look at the two frames. The first held a picture of what appeared to be Alby’s family; a mother, a father, and two sisters. The second frame held a picture of a young looking Alby, his arms thrown around a young Newt. Audrey smiled.

“Shank’s got me all teary-eyed and he ain’t even alive,”Newt sniffled, wiping at his eyes. “Let’s go see if we all have rooms. Take the plaques down of anyone who didn’t make it.”

“Leave Casey’s,” Thao said hurriedly as they left the room. 

The group split up as they walked the halls, reading over the plaques on the doors as they hoped to see their names. Harriet found her’s next, then Sonya. Aris found his soon after.    
They all had a similar plaque to the one on Alby’s door, different names following the one’s WICKED had given to them.    


Audrey looked at the name on her door and smiled, tugging Newt next to her as she pointed at it. 

**SIGGY BISHOP (AIDAN)**

 

Frypan was at the door five seconds after Newt had called him over, staring at his name before going in. It made Audrey all the more excited and nervous to find the door with her name. 

She pulled Newt away as Frypan entered the room, wanting to give him some privacy. They moved on to look at the next door, and then the next after that when they didn’t recognize the name. 

“Audrey!” Gally called from a few doors down, on the opposite side of the hallway. “Found your door.”    


She took a deep breath before quickly walking up to him, Newt following right behind her. 

When she got there, she felt more nervous than excited. Who knows what she’d find in there? Alby’s room had been rather simple but was still filled with photo’s and memorabilia from his life before WICKED. 

**AUDREY FIELDS (PARKER)**

 

“Parker Fields…I don’t like it.” Audrey said, turning to look at Newt as she reached for the handle. 

“I think it suits you. But yeah, I prefer Audrey.” Newt shrugged. “Go in.” 

She turned the handle and pushed the door open, stepping into the room. It was an average size room, with a medium sized bed smack in the middle. The colors were similar to Alby’s room, plain and simple. 

She took another few steps inside, noticing the dresser off to her left and a bookshelf to her right. There was a small desk in the far right corner, with a small computer and a huge stack of books. Apparently Parker Fields was a bookworm. 

There was a bathroom door on the left wall, but Audrey ignored that and headed towards the desk. There was a small bulletin-board hanging just above the desk, and a few picture frames hanging beside that. 

“Newt?” Audrey called, turning back to look at the door. Of course, he was leaning against the frame, waiting for the invitation to come in.    


“It feels homey,” He commented, walking in and sitting down on the bed. Between the two pillows was a stuffed donkey, Newt picked it up, examining it while laying back on the pillow. 

“What’s his name?”Newt asked teasingly, wiggling the stuffie in the air.

“How would I know?” Audrey asked, picking up a photo frame from the dresser. A beautiful blonde woman stared back at her, a small blonde girl in her arms. She glanced at her reflection in the computer screen, and then back at the photo. The woman looked just like Audrey, only ten years older. 

“What’s that?” Newt questioned, still playing with the stuffie. Audrey felt her throat tighten as she went to sit down on the bed beside Newt.

“I think it’s my mom...” Audrey admitted, running her finger over the photograph. 

“She’s almost as beautiful as you,” Newt smirked, pressing a long kiss to her lips. He took the photo from her hand, laying it down on the bedside table. His hand then went to her waist, pushing her down on to the bed and pressing their lips together again.

“Not interested in finding your own room?” Audrey asked between kisses, not really protesting. Newt shook his head, running his hands along her sides.

“Nervous actually,” He admitted, climbing on top of her and smirking. “I think I need a distraction.”

“Five minutes, and then we’re going to find out about the real you.” Audrey sighed, giving in and tugging him down to press their lips together again.

True to her word, they were wandering the hallway again, five minutes later. Turns out in the time they had spent in her room, Thao had found hers. It was about three doors down from Audrey’s, and on the other side of the hallway. 

 

**THAO WARD (TIERANY)**

 

Both of their friends were inside, sitting on the bed and flipping through a journal. Audrey was just about to keep walking to give the two privacy, when Minho called on them. 

“Hey, did your room have a journal at all? Casey kept one the whole time she was here. Dated and everything.” He explained, getting up from the bed.    


“Uhm, it might’ve. I dunno, apparently I really like books. There’s at least fifty in there.” Audrey shrugged, although she had to admit she was curious. “I hope so. It would be really helpful if we all had to or something.” 

“So far we’ve figured out how WICKED got a hold of her. She was like four.” Thao informed them, closing the book and getting up as well. “But there isn’t a journal in here.”    


“Huh… I’ll double check on our way out.” Audrey decided, really hoping she had kept one like Casey. It would answer so many questions, and maybe even give her that stuffed blue donkey’s name.    


“Newt! Minho!” Frypan called from the hallway. “Found your rooms. Right across from each other.” 

The four quickly left the room, and made their way to Frypan. He was two doors down from Thao’s room, and standing in the middle of the hallway.    
  


**MINHO LOY (JAE)**

 

Minho’s room was on the right hand side, same as Thao’s. Audrey watched as he swung open his door and walked inside, Thao following him in a few seconds later. Audrey quickly looked to Newt, wondering if they should follow their friends in.    


Her question was answered when she turned to him, finding him staring at his own plaque on the right side of the hallway.    


“What do you think about my name?” He asked, reaching out to hold her hand. She switched her attention to the door, looking at the plaque closely. 

 

**NEWT BLACK (BENNETT)**

 

“I like it. I’m never calling you that, but I like it.” She nodded, turning back to him. “Go in.” She added a few seconds later, when he didn’t move from his spot. 

He let go of her hand a few seconds after that and nodded, before opening the door and walking in. The room was the same size as hers, and she could see the bed from her spot in the hallway. 

“Well, it sure is darker than your room.” Newt commented, walking around. “And has less books.”    


“You still have a bookshelf.” Audrey pointed out, leaning against his doorframe.    


“Less books though. And no medical textbooks stacked up on my desk.”    


“I think WICKED planned on making me a Med-Jack.” Audrey shrugged. “Or I just really liked learning about how human beings work.” 

“Well if they planned on making you a Med-Jack, then they planned on making me a hoarder of old, dusty boxes.” Newt said, pulling a small wooden chest out from under his bed. “This is one of three.”    


“What’s inside?”    


“Come see. It’s just old photo’s, a camera and an old compass.”    


“Maybe it’s family stuff?” Audrey suggested, walking over. “We should look to see if you had a journal.”    


“It’s on the desk, next to the picture frame.”    


Audrey nodded and went to retrieve it, looking at the photo of what appeared to be a young Newt and another little boy she didn’t recognize. They didn’t share any similar features, otherwise she would have assumed they were brothers.     


“Wonder who that is with you..” She mumbled, picking up the journal and tossing it at him. 

“Maybe this will tell us. But we should probably go find the others for now.” Newt nodded in agreement, standing up properly.

“I found food!” Thomas’s voice echoed down the hallway. They were all out of their rooms in a second, racing down the hallway. They raced up a set of stairs to find a large dining hall with nearly fifty tables. Thomas and Alexander were standing at the back of the room, beside a set of double doors. They walked over to them and Newt pushed the doors open.

Inside were shelves upon shelves of non-perishables. Audrey stared at the food in awe, grabbing a box of pasta off the shelf. “How long do you think this will last, with two hundred people?” She asked, trying to see the end of the room, but the long shelves made it look as if it stretched on forever.

“Couple years, if we ration properly,” Frypan guessed, following Audrey’s gaze.

“Where’s Thao?” Alexander asked, looking at the others. Audrey looked around, noticing both Thao and Minho were missing.

“I don’t know, they were in Min’s room,” Newt shrugged.

“Bet I know what they’re doing,” Thomas smirked.

“Probably looking at his art,” Alexander shrugged. Newt sent him a perplexed look. “He’s an artist.”

“Minho? An artist? We talking about the same dude here?” Newt scoffed. Alexander nodded, looking at the food again.

“It’s pretty impressive, actually.” He told Newt. “We should get everyone here and fed.”

“Good plan,” Thomas agreed, easily slipping into his leadership role. “Harriet and Alexander, can you two go back and round everyone up? Gally and Sonya, can you two go take down the plaques of everyone who isn’t with us anymore, so that everyone else can settle in after they eat?” The four of them nodded, leaving to go do what Thomas asked.

“And we ration?” Newt asked.

“And we ration.” Thomas agreed. “Assume two hundred and fifty.”

“So five times the amount Fry would usually use?” Audrey assumed, starting to help Thomas grab some boxes. 

 

\---------------------------- 

 

After making a rather successful first breakfast, Audrey felt exhausted. Cooking turned out to be a little more complicating that she had originally thought… especially when it was cooking for two hundred people. 

But she wasn’t quite down serving yet. Minho and Thao were still nowhere to be seen so Newt had suggested taking plates to them, like the pair had done time and time again back in the Maze when the other two disappeared in the Map Room for ages. 

“Knock knock. Food delivery.” Audrey sing-songed, tapping on Minho’s closed door with Newt and Thomas right behind her.    


“Come in.” Thao called a few seconds later. Audrey smiled and opened the door, walking in with her arms extended with the food.     


“You two missed all the madness of trying to feed two hundred and something people. And my not so great cooking skills.” Audrey said, filling the two in on what they’d missed. She let go of the plate once she was sure Minho had a hold on it, before looking around.    


“Wow. Your room actually has exciting stuff on the walls.” She commented.    


“Yeah, and Alexander told us that apparently you’re quite the artist.” Newt added. “That were all those mapping skills come from?” 

“Guess so,” Minho mumbled, going to sit on the bed beside Thao again. She was holding a small, leather bound notebook, examining it closely, eyes barely leaving the paper. Audrey went to stand by them, peering down at the book. Newt took a seat on the desk, while Thomas sat on the bed, behind Minho and Thao.

Every page of the book was filled with tiny doodles that appeared to be telling a story. A few of the drawings had one or two words under them, such as a name. It was Minho’s journal.

“Who’s that?” Thomas asked suddenly, pointing to a worn sketch on the wall. It was of a boy, maybe thirteen, and he was laughing. It looked professional.

“My brother,” Minho whispered, flipping the page of the journal. 

“Damn, Min,” Newt muttered looking at the drawings that littered the walls. “In all your time in that Map room, you never thought to draw anything other than the Maze?” Everyone laughed at this, as Audrey began to examine the drawings on the walls. A large one next to the bed caught her eye.

There was a boy and a girl in the image, who appeared to be Thao and Minho. They were hanging upside down on what looked to be a set of monkey bars. Minho was reaching towards the ground, watching Thao with glee. Thao appeared to be holding her shirt at her waist, laughing. It was beautiful.

“These are amazing,” Audrey commented, sitting in the chair beside the desk. Minho’s cheeks flushed, but he didn’t say anything, clearly uncomfortable with this type of attention. 

“What next?” Thomas, of all people, asked. Audrey looked to ‘man with a plan’ Thomas, finding a calm, but sad expression on his face. Audrey was trying hard to push the thought of Casey out of her head, but seeing Thomas’s broken face made them all rush back rather quickly. 

Sadly, it was going to take a long time for everything that had happened to become a distant memory. Which meant that right now, they had to learn to fight through it and just try to rebuild their lives.    


“We’ll figure it out.” Newt declared. “Might take us a little, but I don’t think we have any reason to rush.”    


“How bout we start with a bonfire?” Audrey suggested. It was the one thing through all three trials that effectively lightened the mood. They might not have Gally’s awful concoction anymore or dance around the fire like a bunch of lunatics like they had back in the Glade before things took a turn for the worse, but it could help. 

“It’s eleven a.m.”    


“So? Who says we can’t have a bonfire that lasts all afternoon and night?”    


“I don’t know... Maybe after dinner.”    


“Okay.” Audrey nodded, satisfied enough in knowing there was a bonfire to at least look forward to. “Do you guys want to go explore the rest of this place?”

“I think we’ll stay here, but you three can go,” Thao piped up, almost too quickly. “Besides, I have some stuff i’d like to ask Alexander about.” She shrugged, trying to cover her eagerness for some alone time. Audrey didn’t blame her, the pair hadn’t had real time alone since their days in the maze.

“C’mon boys,” She beckoned to Thomas and Newt. “Let’s leave these two alone.”

 

\--------------

 

The rest of the day had gone by rather slowly. Anxiety rested heavily on all of their shoulders, the five of them having no memory of a time where something wasn’t trying to kill them. It was physically uncomfortable for Audrey to relax, she just didn’t know how.

The five of them were sitting on the cliff top after dinner, waiting for it to get dark. What had started out as an attempt to calm down and waste time, had turned into a recount of memories, and confessions of feelings. All of their eyes were red and puffy from the tears that had been shed.

Minho cleared his throat, bringing them all out of the silence that had fallen over them. “It’s nearly dark, shall we get it started?” He asked them, sitting up.

Everyone nodded in agreement and got up, slowly making their way down from the cliff and back towards the beach.    


They found a nice spot just a little ways from the shrub and grass on the sand, deciding to camp out there. 

Minho, Thomas and Newt went on a scavenger hunt for wood, while Thao and Audrey collected rocks to make a barrier around the soon to be burning fire. It didn’t take them long to find what they need and get the fire started.    


“Do you think Gally will still try to make that awful tasting stuff?” Audrey asked Thao as she sat down next to her friend, watching as the boys fought over who got to add the next log in.     


“Absolutely.”    


“I’m not obligated to drink it anymore right? It’s the rest of the Immunes turn?”    


“No, you’ll still have to drink the stuff. At least once. It was meant for celebrating our escape.”    


“Good point.” Audrey gave her a small smile before looking over at the boys. “Could you just make it a team effort and add the stupid thing before the fire burns out?” 

“No.”    


“Not a chance.”    


“Why would we do that?”    


Audrey shook her head at their responses and leaned back on her elbows. “Boys.” She muttered. Thao walked over, grabbing a log, and propping it up against the others that were already burning. The boys protested again, but Thao quieted them with a wave of her hand.

Soon, everyone else started to arrive. Most people were coming down to the beach, but a few had opted to stay back with the babies. Most everyone had bonded with someone during their stay in the Glade, therefore it wasn’t too difficult to ask them to pair up for rooming purposes. When Gally and Frypan arrived, they were in fact, dragging a huge cart of jars with amber liquid. 

“Gally!” Minho cheered, grabbing a few jars from the cart and bringing them over. They had pulled a few logs aside, where they would be able to rest, a little farther away from the fire. The other Gladers, the members of Group B, and Brenda and Jorge, came and sat down with them. 

When Audrey first arrived in the Glade, there were nearly fifty of them. Now, there were only ten left, as Clint, Jeff, and Clara had managed to make it out as well. Group B only had six of their members, and the realisation hit Audrey fairly hard. Each maze would have had fifty five people to begin with, one hundred and ten in total. Now there were sixteen.

Newt pulled her focus back to the group when he passed a jar of Gally’s juice her way, a small smirk on his face. “To escaping.” He toasted.    


“To escaping.” Audrey agreed, clinking her jar against his gently before taking a small sip. It was surprisingly good this time, and she wondered what Gally had changed up. Not that it was something she would willingly drink all the time now, but he added something. Or was short on something. “Why does this taste better then I remember?” 

“Dunno. Maybe it’s because it’s being used for it’s original purpose.” Newt shrugged, taking a few sips from his own jar. 

“Doubt that would improve it this much.” She shook her head, watching as Thao and Minho handed the jars out to some members of Group B. “It really is a cause for celebration though, isn’t it?”    


“Yeah, it is. No more WICKED.” Newt slung an arm over Audrey’s shoulders, pulling her closer to his side. “We get to start all over again.” 

“It’s weird, though,” Thao mumbled,grabbing Minho’s hand off his lap and intertwining their fingers. “WICKED technically set this all up.” Minho brought his jar to his lips, taking a long gulp. 

“Thank shuckin’ God for WICKED then,” Minho set the bottle down in the sand, rising to his feet. “There is no shuckin’ way we are going to sit over here bein’ all mopey, and bring the rest of these Shanks down.” He declared, pulling Thomas to his feet. “Dance with me darlin’.”

Audrey laughed as she watched the pair skip off towards the fire, arms linked. “Newt, come join us!” Thomas called, outstretching a hand towards Newt. Audrey gave Newt a little shove, making him trip over his own feet and nearly face plant. Newt walked over to them, and they all linked hands spinning in a large circle like little kids. 

“Y’know what?” Thao said, slinging an arm over Audrey’s shoulder. “I think we’re going to be just fine, Shank.” Audrey smiled, taking a few seconds to look at each of her friends. This was it, this was all of the ‘good stuff’ that they dreamed of from the Maze. Here they were, after all the hardship and tragedy that they had been through, still able to bring a smile to each other’s faces. 

Thao was right, they were going to be just fine.


End file.
